BMC, Air Botswana, BotsPost default on P618m gov’t loans
Friday, March 17, 2023 | 720 Views |
Trying times: The Botswana Meat Commission has struggled to stay afloat in recent years PIC: KENNEDY RAMOKONE
According to the Auditor General’s latest report, which covers the year to March 2021, BMC owed government P248 million while the national airline was on the hook for P230 million and BotswanaPost P140 million.
In all three instances, the loans were made from government’s Public Service Debt Fund and date back several years. Bank of Botswana records show that BotswanaPost’s debt to government dates back to 2014–2015 and has gone without any repayments since then, while the BMC’s comprises two separate loans dating back to the 2019–2020 financial year. Air Botswana’s loan dates from 2018–2019.
According to a report elsewhere in this publication, various district councils announced that a one-bedroom home now costs over P130,000 more, a near-unthinkable 32% increase. This isn't just a minor adjustment, but a devastating blow to the dream of affordable home ownership for ordinary citizens.What is most alarming is not just the scale of the increase, but the profound confusion it has exposed. Minister Ramogapi has publicly...