Author

Lewanika Timothy
  • BPOPF to cut out opportunistic ‘middlemen’

    The decision shows that the country’s largest pension fund wants to remain unshaken even as it hunts for opportunities to invest the billions of pula in funds being returned home as part of changes in the law.Under changes to the Retirement Funds...

  • The true cost of govt’s ‘free lunch’

    Botswana has brought a butter knife to a poverty fight whilst its antagonist – unemployment – has brought a grenade. For 58 years, government has been preaching empowerment, social welfare, and social security support, but after almost six...

  • Cyber-finance crimes evade us, authorities admit

    This week Botswana Police Service officials revealed that they currently have zero cases recorded involving cryptocurrency illicit financial transactions, due to a lack of capacity.This swims against the tide of alarms raised by the financial...

  • The perils of Botswana’s welfare state

    Of the many fading values that served as the cornerstone of yesteryear Botswana, there is one that seems to be dissipating faster than most – the value of self-reliance. Fables and legend have it that erstwhile Botswana was the simile of a secular...

  • Letshego on recovery path as losses narrow

    The listed group noted in the 2024 full year results that it registered a profit before tax of P232 million, which was offset by tax amounts of P302 million that led to losses of P70 million. Speaking at the audited financial results announcement,...

  • Household debt to banks tops P55bn

    Household borrowing, the main revenue driver for commercial banks and a bellwether of economic activity, has been growing steadily, supported by the Bank of Botswana (BoB) cuts in interest rates.Central bank figures contained in the January Botswana...

  • Gov't warned against stand alone 8000 MW project

    They noted that doing this in isolation without working in synergy with other regional planners may lead to “white elephant” investment. Cautioning government during a SADC ministerial high level policy dialogue recently, Deputy Permanent...

  • Gambling Authority nabs illegal betting platforms

    Sports betting has exploded in the country of late, with many Batswana trying their fortunes on the various platforms.However, the Authority warned the public that Bet365, Forzza, 1XBET, Betwinners “and others,” due to their failure to comply...

  • Cash remains king in local economy

    The latest data is contained in a Bank of Botswana (BoB) research paper released recently.Financial data extrapolated from 2011 as a base year shows that Batswana prefer to use cash as a means of transacting goods and services, with the local economy...

  • Gov’t pours P150m into SOE ‘sinkhole’

    The latest details are contained in draft estimates of expenditure released by the ministry as part of the 2025–2026 budget. The estimates will be confirmed when the Appropriation Bill is passed by Parliament.According to the draft estimates, the...

  • Gov't bets on energy as diamond regression persists

    In his first official address last week, Vice President and Finance Minister, Ndaba Gaolathe, discussed the previous administration’s Integrated Resource Plan, which targeted 30% renewable energy by 2030 and 50% by 2036. He confidently announced...

  • Rejuvenating Botswana’s tourism – A chat with Wilderness' CEO

    Mmegi: At what moment in your life did you know and realise that conservation was going to be your life and field of work. VINCENT: I grew up in Zimbabwe and spent most of my childhood holidays in Hwange National Park. I knew at an early age that I...

  • Has Gaolathe stopped the spending haemorrhage?

    Anyone who listened to Minister of Finance Ndaba Gaolathe’s statement in Parliament last year, on the state of the public coffers would have bet with their lives that the 2025–2026 budget would be a lean affair compared to the historic P102...

  • Foreign affairs targets stir in Botswana diplomatic policy

    The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Phenyo Butale, recently revealed to Mmegi that the government of the Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) intends to develop a guiding written foreign policy position for the country, a move that has been preached by...

  • Botswana 'made P207m' from MICE strategy, BTO says

    Under the past administration, government initiated a MICE strategy seeking to position the country as a premier destination for international meetings and conferences. Conservative estimates indicate that hundreds of millions of pula were spent on...

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