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

Watching numbers: Dekop does not expect government’s higher debt appetite to lower the amounts available for the private sector in the capital market PIC PHATSIMO KAPENG.
Watching numbers: Dekop does not expect government’s higher debt appetite to lower the amounts available for the private sector in the capital market PIC PHATSIMO KAPENG.

The Bank of Botswana does not expect that the government’s increased demand for debt, in light of the P22 billion deficit, will dry up the capital market for the private sector, BusinessWeek has established.

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 instrument through which government borrows from the local market via the BoB.

Thus far this financial year, government has raised gross proceeds of P29.3 billion from the domestic capital market, as the prolonged diamond slowdown has eaten into its revenues. However, the high quantum of fundraising – which compares with P17.7 billion in the prior year – has raised concerns of a crowding out of other borrowers, as well as a sucking up of liquidity in the market.

Editor's Comment
A promising step for public schools, but...

For too long, the state of many public schools has been a source of shame. We have all seen the pictures and heard the stories of broken windows, unreliable water and electricity, topped by classrooms that are not fit for proper learning. The establishment of the Education Infrastructure and Management Company Ltd (EIMC) signals that authorities are finally ready to take this problem seriously. We must commend the government for this initiative....

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