Author

Mbongeni Mguni
Financial Journalist

Twitter: @MboBW

Email: [email protected]
  • S&P maintains Botswana’s credit rating but dims on economy

    S&P, one of three main credit ratings agencies whose opinions determine government’s cost of borrowing, maintained the country’s high sovereign credit ratings but revised the outlook from stable to negative.The decision, announced on Friday...

  • Elephants outwit chilli pepper trick

    At the time, the chilli pepper method was hailed as an affordable method to reduce human elephant conflict.Starting around 2015, farmers in the North West began mixing chilli pepper with elephant dung to make briquettes which they then burnt. Lit at...

  • DWNP weighs options as farmer payouts reach P100m

    DWNP director, Moemedi Batshabang, told Mmegi this week that for every pula paid out to affected victims of HWC, three more pula were used for administration. For the 2023-24 financial year, the Department paid out P25 million, but effectively P100...

  • Food prices warm inflation

    According to the data, average food and beverage prices increased 5.5 percent in the 12 months to February, compared to 5.1 percent in the 12 months to January. The average prices of breads and cereals, which carry the heaviest weighting in the food...

  • Grains dominate food imports

    Statistics Botswana figures show that the grains replaced beverages as the most imported item by value last year.According to the data, imports of beverages, which include different types of alcohol and bottled water, were estimated at P2.5 billion...

  • Elephants outwit chilli pepper trick

    At the time, the chilli pepper method was hailed as an affordable method to reduce human elephant conflict.Starting around 2015, farmers in the North West began mixing chilli pepper with elephant dung to make briquettes which they then burnt. Lit at...

  • World’s biggest miner wants slice of Kalahari Copperbelt

    Under the terms of the deal, as published on the Australian Securities Exchange last week, BHP has committed to financing Cobre Limited for exploration expenditure at the Kitlanya Projects, located in both the north and south of the...

  • Demand creation: The heart of the new diamond deal

    Amongst the clauses of the new agreement between De Beers and government that were made public recently, is one that will be of critical importance for the recovery and future of the precious stones. The two long-term partners have agreed to...

  • BOTSAT-1 launch further delayed due to SpaceX schedule

    The launch has been delayed by technical issues affecting a National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) launch, which occupies the rocket launch right before BOTSAT-1.In a brief interview with The Monitor, Mpoeleng said the NASA rocket which...

  • Trade deficit reaches P37bn in 2024

    The trade balance, or the relationship between imports and exports of goods, has been in negative territory since at least September 2023 when diamond sales began to slow down and eventually sank due to factors including Chinese market weakness and...

  • CoA greenlights P18m Pula Steel sale

    Last October, VRI Metals won a High Court ruling overturning the sale to Sherashiya, with Justice Zein Kebonang upholding arguments that the deal had improperly favoured the winning bidder.VRI won a previous bidding round in 2022 for Pula Steel, but...

  • Banks face ‘unprecedented’ liquidity crunch

    The Bank of Botswana (BoB) released about P1.8 billion to banks in December, as liquidity dried up in the market because of a slowdown in government spending related to the prolonged diamond slump.The situation has not abated this year and could...

  • BOTSAT-1 delayed but ready to launch

    The lift-off has been delayed by technical issues affecting a National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) launch which occupies the rocket launch right before BOTSAT-1. NASA is the American space agency.In a brief interview with Mmegi this...

  • Rolling deficits push budget into tricky waters

    The golden rule of debt is that you should only borrow what you can afford to pay. One of the country’s financial regulators requires lending institutions to warn clients that “borrowing more than you can afford to repay could lead to severe...

  • BoB allays ‘crowding out’ risks as gov't debt appetite balloons

    The Ministry of Finance plans to finance the forecast deficit from the domestic capital market, as well as from external funders. The bulk of the funding is expected to be sourced through the domestic note issuance programme, a P55 billion multi-year...

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