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Botswana

Republic of Botswana

by Mark Sensen

Explanation of the flag
Presidential flag
Flag history of Botswana
The High Commissioner of South Africa

See also:

CIA World Factbook

Explanation of the flag

The colors on the flag correspond to those on the national coat of arms. The blue represents water (the motto on the national arms is PULA, meaning "let there be rain"). The white-black-white bands depict the racial harmony of the people as well as the pluralist nature of the society. They are inspired by the coat of the zebra, the national animal.

Nick Artimovich, 1 November 1996

Both the currency and national motto of Botswana are Pula which means 'rain'. To a Tswana, pula means more than just the wet stuff which falls out the sky: it stands for luck, life and prosperity. In Mmabatho, in ex-Bophuthatswana, one of the most impressive pieces of architecture is the water tower in the symbolic shape of two hands holding aloft a bowl. Probably not really surprising imagery for such a dry region.

Stuart A.Notholt, 3 November 1996

I returned today after ten days in Botswana. Flag flying is not very common and is mainly restricted to the government and the larger commercial organisations. Many of the flags which I saw were in a very sorry state of repair - a case of up the pole and forgotten! On further inquiry I learned that there is a law which requires government permission to be granted before the flag of Botswana can be flown. How effectively this is implemented (if at all) is unclear but it might explain the lack of flags. Certainly there were no flags available for purchase.

Bruce Berry, 14 April 1998

Presidential flag

by Calvin Paige Herring

The flag of the President takes the blue of the national flag as its field. Centered upon that blue is a black-bordered white disk which reminds one of the colors of the national flag. The national coat of arms is placed upon the white disk. The arms begin with a shield of traditional African shape. It is supported by zebras which hold a tusk and a sorghum plant. Respectively, these represent racial harmony, the wildlife of Botswana, and agriculture of the country. The cogwheels refer to industry while the bull's head symbolizes animal husbandry. The blue wavy, heraldic lines refer to the national motto of "Pula" which means more than its literal translation of 'rain'. Pula is a concept that embodies the belief in the notion that all will be good and well in the future.

Calvin Paige Herring, 4 May 1998

Flag history of Botswana

by Jaume Ollé

Prior to independence on 30 September 1966, Botswana was the British protectorate of Bechuanaland. The Bechuanaland Protectorate was administered through the office of the high commissioner in South Africa which was created by letters patent in 1878. The high commissioner was charged with the conduct of British relations with the South African Republic (Transvaal) and the Orange Free State, as well as with "those native states and tribes outside the colonies of the Cape and Natal, including Swaziland" (which was administered by the government of the South African Republic under the convention of 1894). The high commissioner was also governor of Basutoland (now Lesotho) and supervised the affairs of the Bechuanaland Protectorate (now Botswana) and Swaziland.

The high commissioner flew a British Union Flag charged in the centre, on a white roundel, with the letters S.A.H.C. in black above which was a Tudor crown, all within a green garland of laurel. This flag which was taken into use in 1907, is similar in design to that of the Western Pacific high commissioner.

This flag was used until 1931 afterwhich the posts of governor-general and high commissioner were separated. The governor-general of South Africa would henceforth fly a royal-blue flag bearing the royal crest with two scrolls inscribed "Union of South Africa" and "Unie van Suid-Afrika" respectively. The high commissioner, based in South Africa, was represented by a resident commissioner in each of the high commission territories (Basutoland, Bechuanaland and Swaziland). Of these, only the resident commissioner for Basutoland, which was a crown colony, had a personal flag. The other two territories were British protectorates and thus their inhabitants were merely "protected persons".

The flag of the high commissioner for Basutoland, the Bechuanaland Protectorate and Swaziland was a similiar design to that used previously by the South African high commissioner, being a British Union Flag charged in the centre, on a white roundel, with the letters H.C. in black, above which was an imperial crown, all within a green garland of laurel. The flag fell into abeyance following the independence of the high commission territories in the late 1960s.

Bruce Berry, 19 February 1998

Botswana Democratic Party

by Randy Young