*Alcohol industry embraces the idea of a 24-hour economy
*24-hour economy bill to be tabled in Parliament’s July winter sitting
The festive season came and it is now gone leaving those in power with important policy questions, key among them the possibility of introducing a 24-hour economy.
On the December 19, 2025, government gazetted the Liquor Amendment Regulations, 2025, allowing liquor outlets to operate into the early morning hours during the festive period.
The regulations took effect from 24th December 2025 to 4th January 2026 and covered all days of the week, including public holidays.
The move was largely welcomed with gratitude by revellers and patrons of bar outlets across the country who embraced the extended operating hours.
Under the amended Second Schedule of the Liquor Act, bars, restaurants, clubs and temporary liquor licence holders were permitted to trade from 10am to 6am, while discotheques and nightclubs were to operate from 5pm to 6am.
Bottle stores traded between 8am and 10pm, while distributors and wholesale liquor outlets operated from 10am to 5pm, a move which was aimed at accommodating increased demand during the festive season.
Although a group of club owners and music festival organisers challenged the decision through an urgent court application, the High Court dismissed the case, clearing the way for revellers to enjoy the “lala vuka” as it is termed- throughout festive period.
Botswana Alcohol Industry Association (BAIA) chairperson, Gerald Maje, said the initiative gave them an opportunity to witness and experience the impact of such development.
“Retail as a whole in more developed nations is a 24-hour industry. Not necessarily singling out liquor but trade in general should be more spread and operational throughout,” Maje said. “Contrary to the expected spike in purchases we saw a more relaxed approach in the trade where customers were flexible to purchase and consume at their preferred times without pressure. Change will forever bring some form of discomfort but if managed correctly it should actually bring economic growth and employment opportunities,” he said, adding that they were yet to compile more feedback and data for statistics surrounding the whole period to further understand the full impact of the amendments.
Regarding the impact, Maje said they observed a steady growth, not necessarily a huge spike.
“I tend to say increasing times of operation does not increase the amount one can consume. In terms of preparations I would not say we were fully prepared, however we were also not necessarily harmed by the initiative. In fact this was a learning curve for the trade, in the case that if it will be something that the government intends to consider further, we now have full experience and knowledge on how to go about it, considering the opportunities and of course the risks.”
Maje further emphasised that if the economy is looking to operate 24 hours, it is safe to include all sectors that compliment the trading industry.
Sectors such as transport, security and fuel are some of the industries which are already operating 24 hours.
Reached for comment, Minister of Trade and Entrepreneurship Tiroeaone Ntsima said government was still assessing the impact of the amended liquor operating times during festive, and that once tabulation is complete findings will be shared out.
“In terms of a 24 hour economy we are still conducting consultations with various stakeholders. With regards to the liquor industry our view has always been that we should not be regulating times of operations which means they should be phased out completely if possible. So once the consultations are done we will be tabling a bill for the 24 hour economy at parliament which will be focused on the entire retail sector because all these sectors compliment each other, so in a 24 hour economy we will need all of them to be fully functional also,” said Ntsima adding that the bill is likely to reach parley by July winter sitting session.
