Author

Mbongeni Mguni
Financial Journalist

Twitter: @MboBW

Email: [email protected]
  • Chobe Zambezi dream moves closer to reality

    All the dams that can plausibly be built in the country, have already been built, says Water Utilities Corporation (WUC) CEO, Gaselemogwe Senai.At present and forecast rates of consumption, these dams are sufficient to supply the country until about...

  • How the Russia, Ukraine war will hit your pocket

    As at the end of February, authorities at the Botswana Energy Regulatory Authority (BERA), estimate the local petrol pump prices were, on average, P1.25 below the actual cost of supplying the fuel. Diesel prices were on average P1.49 below cost while...

  • Letshego aims to be pan-African digital giant

    From its traditions as a deduction at source business targetting the civil service, Letshego has expanded over the years to the mass marketing of its credit products and also financing of small to medium enterprises.The microlender has also grown its...

  • Gov’t confirms P560m of COVID-19 bailout lying unused

    This comes more than a year after the funds were announced as part of the Economic Recovery and Transformation Plan (ERTP). Government unveiled a P1.3 billion Industry Support Fund (ISF) in November 2020 targetted at the hardest-hit sectors of the...

  • Bank profits surpass pre-pandemic levels

    In 2019, the year before COVID-19 arrived in the country, the country’s commercial banks recorded collective after-tax profits of P1.78 billion.Bank of Botswana figures released recently indicate that the profitability recorded in 2021 was the...

  • Border vaccine rules cripple tourism – HATAB

    According to HATAB chief executive officer (CEO), Lily Rakorong, a recent survey amongst the organisation’s members found that between February 14 when the new rules were introduced, and February 22, bookings worth P109 million were cancelled.The...

  • Councils skipped gov’t approval for Bluthorn deals

    Running between 2018 and 2019, the unit trust scheme was touted as promising lucrative returns for the councils and Land Boards but ran into trouble when the dividends were not paid despite reaching maturity. Investigations by the Non-Bank Financial...

  • Wealth tax debate reignites as BURS targets P48bn

    The tax target for the upcoming financial year is compared to the P42 billion the BURS was charged with collecting in the 2021-2022 financial year. By December, the tax agency had raked in P38.5 billion, setting it on course to reach the...

  • The politics of weaning Africa off coal

    “Someone came to me and said renewable energy will create 330,000 jobs in South Africa and I said give me the formula looking at the 90,000 jobs we have in coal.“I have not found that formula.“I grew up in the Eastern Cape and I recently took a...

  • From waiter to MD: Lempheditse Odumetse's rise

    Mmegi: Please give a brief outline of your career path leading to your current positionOdumetse: Having completed my high schooling in 1996, I was employed at The Duck Inn, a famous bar and restaurant in Maun, as a waiter/barman. In 1999 The Duck Inn...

  • Rising prices anchor local base metal bounce-back

    Copper and nickel production is set to resume in the country, six years after all the country’s mines closed. Investors are leveraging on stronger base metal prices to finalise acquisitions of suspended operations and fast-track new mines.A...

  • BSE rises 1.8% in February

    As at Wednesday, the DCI was up 2.5% for the year, with performance led by counters such as Letshego which has gained 21% since the beginning of the year.Other counters driving the DCI this year include RDC Properties, Letlole la Rona and First...

  • BoB to overhaul interest regime

    Central bank governor, Moses Pelaelo announced the reforms on Wednesday, saying industry consultations would begin 'henceforth' with the reforms due to take effect in the first half of the year.The bank rate anchors all other interest rates...

  • The monkey on the back of govt's "best laid' fiscal plans

    In his response to the 2022 Budget Speech this week, former Finance Minister, Thapelo Matsheka, took legislators down memory lane, recalling how the Budget Speech of 1997 spoke to the themes of tighter public finance management as a tool for more...

  • Reaching for the sky: Major solar projects finally kick off

    Local clean energy firm, Sustainable Energy Botswana, calls it “letting the sun do the work,” a reference to the potential solar power has in transforming the country’s electricity mix from its current finite fossil fuel base, to a more...

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