The Botswana Communications Regulatory Authority (BOCRA) has got a new Chief Executive since May 15th 2017. His name is Tshoganetso Kepaletswe. He has been appointed to act as Chief Executive replacing the former Chief Executive Mr. Thari G. Pheko whose contract ended on April 30th 2017. The new Chief Executive graduated from the University of East Anglia with a Bachelor of Finance and Economics in 1983. He also graduated with a MSc in management information systems in 1986. In the past, Mr. Tshoganetso Kepaletswe was the Chief Executive of the Botswana Telecommunications Authority (BTA) for 6 years before its dissolution on March 31st 2013. He managed the transition from the BTA to the BOCRA and was the chairman of the Botswana Information Technology Society. When he joined the regulatory agency, the latter had to keep on improving its performances in the practice of type approval.
The regulator’s services include the type approval of equipment which has just underwent changes. In fact, the new guideline announced in our last newsletters has effectively entered into force. It will bring about three major changes: the increase in type approval fees, the introduction of the e-labelling and the duration of certificates going from 1 year to 2, 3, 4, 5 or 7 years depending on the type of equipment. Consult IT! witnessed the effectiveness of these measures with its recent interventions in Botswana. For all practical purposes, here is the list of equipment and their corresponding duration of certificate.

The BOCRA is one of the most dynamic regulator on the continent. It is an active member of the Communications Regulators’ Association of Southern Africa (CRASA). The last changes that took place should help the regulatory authority continue its regulatory activity. Our local team pays very close attention to these changes and will keep you informed.