Pula hits 16-year high against rand

Batswana took to social media as the week opened, marvelling at the sudden collapse in the value of the rand on Monday. According to historical Bank of Botswana opening rates, the last time the pula was stronger than on Monday was January 06, 2004 when it was measured at R1.47.

Panic over the sudden spread of the coronavirus outside China amidst rising infections and deaths, hit the global economy hard early on Monday, triggering huge drops in most major stock exchanges and currency markets.