Byron, since you're SA based, you've got advantage.
Keep the instructing job, get the time in. The more hours, the more marketable compared to the hordres of 200hr pilots streaming in.
As it's been said here (and I'm just intersted observer, no direct experience of Botswana), it's about showing your face, networking etc. Save up more cash and in half year or so, when the hiring season is about to start or starts, you'd be there for couple weeks. Then even if you leave back for instructing job after taking unpaid leave etc, they'd know you and that you're happy to jump on bus or flight if they got spot.
Nearing 1000h TT, you should be able to score the 208 job. The minimums were mentioned somewhere here on pprune.