On August 1, 2024, OneTrust DataGuidance Research confirmed with Obakeng Lebotse, Partner at Bookbinder Business Law, that, on July 26, 2024, the Minister for State President published Bill No. 19 of 2024 for the Data Protection Bill 2024. The bill seeks to repeal and re-enact with amendments the Data Protection Act.

Main amendments

The bill includes amendments to the following aspects of the Act:

• extends the application of the Act to the processing of personal data by automated means and manual processing, if personal data is contained or intended to be contained in a filing system. The Act does not apply to the processing of personal data by a natural person in the course of a purely personal or household activity;
• further extends the application of the Act to a data controller who is not established in Botswana but whose processing activities take place in Botswana or relate to services and the offering of services to data subjects in Botswana;
• provides that the Act binds the State and thus extends the application of the Act to the Government;
• specifies rules for the processing of sensitive personal data;
• provides additional conditions for the lawfulness of processing such as data minimization, accuracy, storage limitation, and accountability;
• adds the rights to restriction, data portability, and to object to a decision solely based on automated processing;
• provides for carrying out a Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) prior to processing in order to assess the risks of such processing activities;
• adds conditions for the appointment of data protection officers (DPOs) as well as their qualifications, duties, and requirements for their independence; and
• increases the highest fine from BWP 1 million (approx. $73,870) to BWP 50 million (approx. $3.6 million) or 4% of the total worldwide annual turnover, whichever is higher.

Next steps

The bill will become law after being approved by the President.

You can read the bill here.