Absa predicts bleak 2024 for Botswana’s economy
Monday, January 29, 2024 | 790 Views |
Ridle Markus
Absa Southern African economist, Ridle Marcus, last week revealed that inside forecast point to a tough year for Botswana’s economy with the main pressures coming from inflation facing commodities and a steep diamond price crunch.
“The World Bank this year revised forecasts for economic growth from three percent to 2.4 percent for this year and this forecast cut signalled lack of confidence in Botswana’s ability to withstand forecasted pressures especially in the commodities market and diamond price uncertainties,” he told the bank’s economic forum on Thursday.
That sounds like good news. But the report also warns that this may simply be because our digital economy is still young, not because we are safe. As more people shop, bank and pay online, criminals will follow.We Batswana do not need a report to tell us that danger is real. Many of us have heard of or fallen victim to KYC scams. A caller impersonates your bank or mobile money provider. They say they need to “verify” your account. They ask...