Author

Mbongeni Mguni
Financial Journalist

Twitter: @MboBW

Email: [email protected]
  • AfDB breathes life into mega-solar project

    The continental bank’s board approved a $7.88 million grant (P105 million) to the Africa Energy Transition Catalyst (AETC) programme, which aims to increase renewable energy generation across the continent.“The AETC programme sets out to conduct...

  • Gov’t moves to end live cattle exports

    Assistant Agriculture minister, Molebatsi Molebatsi, recently said farmers would be restricted to exporting two live cattle each between July and October, then one each between then and December, when the exports would end.“Previously when the...

  • DTCB closes in on first non-Debswana deal

    Established in 2006, DTCB has been limited to only sorting and valuing stones from Debswana, before selling these to De Beers and the state-owned Okavango Diamond Company.In the years since its establishment, DTCB’s operating position has tightened...

  • Deal done, focus shifts to hard graft at ODC

    State-owned diamond trader, the Okavango Diamond Company (ODC), recently saw the weight of its responsibilities transform from independently selling a percentage of Debswana’s production, to carrying the collective aspirations of the country for...

  • Inflation drops to 26-month low

    Figures published by Statistics Botswana yesterday indicate that the cost of living continues to decline in line with forecasts by the Bank of Botswana and other analysts. This year, inflation has moved from a peak of 9.9 % in March, to its low of...

  • Electricity output up 40% in Q1

    Figures released by Statistics Botswana recently indicate that national electricity production reached 890,655-megawatt hours (MWh) in the first three months of the year, compared to 638,501MWh over the corresponding period last year.The country...

  • BSE up 4% in H1

    Over the corresponding period last year, the DCI had risen 2.5 percent, indicating that this year has seen broad price strengthening across the local exchange.According to data compiled by Stockbrokers Botswana, leading the DCI in the first half of...

  • Local workers’ morale ranks lowest in global survey

    In the absence of the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) well-known Global Competitiveness Report, a survey by the Swiss-based Institute of Management Development (IMD), has become the world’s go-to review on comparative competitiveness.Botswana signed...

  • De Beers plans local jewellery manufacturing plant

    The development is part of the agreements in principle reached between De Beers and government last week as part of the new sales and mining deal.The two parties sealed the agreement in principle late on Friday night, following tense negotiations...

  • Eleventh hour deals and lifetime ‘wins’

    President Mokgweetsi Masisi was at his oratorical best in Sese on Wednesday, taking a full kgotla down a colourful, idiom-laden journey into the history and the present of the country’s diamonds and the extraction of value from them. The President,...

  • Gov’t to cede mining equity entitlement to Batswana

    Amendments to the Act could also potentially see the 15% equity option for government increased to 26%, BusinessWeek has established.The current Mines and Minerals Act allows government to buy a 15% shareholding in any new mining project, with an...

  • BSE approves Access’ P2bn note programme

    In a market notice recently, Access Bank said the proceeds of notes issued from the programme would be channelled towards “ongoing normal operations” unless otherwise stated.Once Access Bank issues its first notes from the programme, it will join...

  • New De Beers deal to pump P1bn into development fund

    De Beers and government on Friday agreed to extend their sales arrangement which covers the marketing of stones from Debswana, by another 10 years, while also extending mining leases in the country by another 25 years from when they expire in 2029....

  • A tale of two deserts

    What does Las Vegas export? Simple question, no?OK, what does Botswana export? Even simpler right? Here, one can list copper, salt, gold and the world-famous diamonds – the shiny stones first spotted in the Motloutse River in 1959.Going by that...

  • Norwegian firm raises P650m for Phikwe solar

    The Norwegian firm won a highly contested tender for the contract in August 2021 and has since been mobilising funding to the tune of $49 million (P658m) required for the plant, which will be the country’s single largest renewable project to...

arrow up