27 Feb 2025

The 2025-26 Budget Speech recently tabled before the Parliament offers a pragmatic realisation of the nation’s current circumstances as well as bold vision for Botswana’s future.
Minister of Minerals and Energy and Specially elected MP Ms Bogolo Kenewendo expressed this on Wednesday, saying the budget showed a deep commitment to fiscal prudence and accountability as well as inclusive growth, sustainable development and governance reform.
She said the economic outlook presented in the budget recognised current challenges, and focused on creating stability and ensuring future stability.
“The government’s financial position has been deteriorating, as financial buffers are down and debt has been accumulated. Government’s net financial assets have fallen by more than 50 per cent of the gross domestic product (GDP), from 31 per cent of GDP in 2008-2009 to negative 24 per cent by the end of 2024,” Ms Kenewendo said.
She said fiscal prudence and the rebuilding of the macroeconomic department at the Ministry of Finance was important towards restoring the necessary controls.
“Our fiscal strategy hinges on effective revenue maximisation, on public expenditure efficiency and implementation of a robust debt management strategy. These are important to provide stability,” Ms Kenewendo said.
Ms Kenewendo said the country should leverage on the country’s international goodwill and being consistently ranked as having among the highest credit rating from reputable global institutions.
“We must therefore leverage these to unlock more capital for economic and productive activities, particularly for economic infrastructure,” she said.
She said the country needed a better revenue generation strategy, including improved tax collection. Ms Kenewendo said the recent completion of government’s Rough Diamonds Sales Agreement with De Beers should kick-start more work to revive the nation’s position in the industry and in economic diversification
“We need to unlock more value from diamonds. The industry is challenged with structural issues and transformation, as well as low sales in both the United States of America and Asia, and we therefore need to make sure there are strategic investments in other revenue generating sectors,” Ms Kenewendo.
She said economic diversification was an urgent necessity to position Botswana to not only maximise benefit from the diamond industry through value addition, but also in developing other revenue streams from other sectors to reduce the country’s vulnerability to global economic shocks.
Ms Kenewendo said government would work on improving the country’s energy sector towards a long-term sustainability. ENDS