Botswana has tabled two key pieces of legislation to transform the country’s digital governance and protect it from cyber threats.
The Digital Services Bill, 2025 and the Cybersecurity Bill, 2025, published on August 8 by the Minister of Communications and Innovation, seek to modernise service delivery while safeguarding critical information systems.
The Digital Services Bill provides a framework for regulating and enhancing the management of digital services. It establishes a Digital Services Authority to set national standards, oversee infrastructure interoperability and promote open data access. The bill also seeks to improve public access to online platforms, streamline administrative processes and boost productivity in government operations.
The Cybersecurity Bill complements these reforms by creating structures to promote cybersecurity and build national capacity. It mandates the protection of critical information infrastructure, sets governance and liability rules for network systems, and outlines measures for preventing and resolving cyber incidents.
The proposed laws come as Botswana accelerates its shift from paper-based systems to a more resilient and unified digital ecosystem. They also reflect growing urgency to defend against rising cyber threats, following high-profile breaches and ransomware attacks globally.