Gaborone - Post Report Question and Answers
What is the availability and cost of household help, and what types of help are typically employed by expatriates?
I had a couple come twice a week for housekeeping and gardening and they stayed about 4 hours each visit. I paid US$200 a month. - Jul 2019
Very available, very inexpensive. My housekeeper worked for me 14 hours a week (two 7 hour days) and I paid her $120 per month. - Apr 2017
We pay about 250 USD for full-time care of three children and all housework. It's incredible. - Jul 2016
Available and relatively cheap - most pay US$1,500-2,000 per month for full-time help. But most do NOT cook, and the Botswana household help tend to be lazier than expats from Zim or Zambia. - Mar 2015
It's not that expensive. People get live-in maids. Our helper comes 2 times a week and gets paid US$131 per month. She cleans, washes the clothes and irons. Our gardener comes 2 days a week for 4 hours each day and gets around US$80 - Oct 2014
I hear it is fairly inexpensive. I didnt have house help, but my gardner was 100 BWP per visit...which was about US$13.00. He was good and I used him once, sometimes twice, per week. - Nov 2013
Limited availability of reliable, competent domestic help; extremely low cost (around US$1-2 an hour). Nannies are very hard to find. Cooks are next to impossible, not a culture that cooks much beyond staples. Best to try to hire domestic help from a departing employee, with their recommendation. - Jul 2013
Cheap and available. Quality varies, but we had a FANTASTIC housekeeper whom I found through a maid service. Lots of expats and one good site on facebook (gaborone grapevine) which helps with recommendations if you're just arriving. - Apr 2013
Domestic help is readily available and will cost about $200 a month for a full time maid/nanny. Gardeners are a bit cheaper and are easy to find. Many people also share domestic staff (part-time for certain hours during the week) at a lower cost. One thing that is hard to find here is a domestic who can cook. - Jun 2010
