09 Apr 2025

 Over 50 off-road vehicles and motor bikes are expected to participate at the Sarona Kalahari Desert Race scheduled for Jwaneng on April 11-13.

The race has attracted entrants from Botswana, South Africa as well as Namibia and it is a local initiative intended to fill the gap following the discontinuation of the popular Botswana Toyota 1000 Desert Race, formerly known as Mantshwabisi, last year.

“This is a collaboration between the Botswana Motor Sport and the CYRO Motor Sport, and the race is fully owned by Batswana. We tried to develop a concept last year and started a championship where we successfully had four rounds of the race and that is when we realised the local capability to have a race of this magnitude,” Tefo Dithapo, Head of Federation Internationale de Motocyclisme, Botswana Motor Sport explained in an interview with BOPA.

He said in order to fill the gap for off-road race enthusiasts, the intention was to make it an annual event, hence the call for all stakeholders and communities to offer the utmost support.

Most of the race route is expected to pass through places within Mabutsane District, with the starting and finishing lines at Jwaneng as usual.

Meanwhile, Mabutsane District councillors have welcomed the initiative, amidst concerns of late and inadequate consultations.

Expressing their views during a consultation at a special full council meeting recently, the councillors appreciated the socio-economic contribution of the race to the local communities.

However, they cautioned against the risk factors and implored the organisers to deploy mitigation plans to safeguard damage to infrastructure and the environment.

“This kind of race affects our roads, hence I appeal to you to ensure that our roads are rehabilitated after the event. We also know that it comes with a lot of littering in our surroundings due to the many spectators and we would appreciate if you can have measures in place how the environment will be protected,” said Sese North councillor, Kotlung Lucas.

He further underscored the need to fully engage local authorities in the affected communities for better planning and coordination, as well as ensuring that residents were brought on board.

Sharing the same sentiments, Mokhomma councillor, Mosetsanagape Raboshotomane said while they appreciated the economic benefits for the communities, there was need to expedite compensation processes for the properties that would be affected.

“This is a welcome development, since in addition to entertainment and recreation, it also boosts the local economy. However, we encourage that those who will be affected by the race should be compensated on time,” she said.

For his part, Mabutsane District Commissioner, Dick Kalantle said even though the race was a welcome development for the district, the late consultations hindered thorough preparations by the local committees to ensure a successful event.

He also said the absence of designated campsites and the music festival, as key components of the desert race, would create a mammoth task of managing large crowds and littering around spectator areas.

However, Dithapo assured them that they had partnered with other stakeholders such as the Fire Department to mitigate against the risks associated with the race of its magnitude.

He also said a post-race assessment exercise would be undertaken to establish the effects of the race on communities, particularly farmers, so that they could be compensated accordingly.

Subsequently, he encouraged them to report damages that were directly linked to the event to the police station for easy response.

Additionally, he urged the district leaders to assist with corporate social responsibility initiatives in their area that could benefit from the event. ENDS