Botswana banking charges too high

But the book, which tallies previous studies by government think-tank, the Botswana Institute for Development Policy Analysis (BIDPA), and Bank of Botswana (BoB) notes that there are questions on the methodology of coming to this conclusion. Jefferies' book notes that BoB had reported that bank charges in Botswana were higher than in South Africa and Mauritius while BIDPA concluded that banking was more expensive in Botswana than in South Africa.

"While each of the studies can be criticised on grounds of methodology, the consensus of their conclusions - that banking in Botswana is expensive - is striking," the book says. However, Jefferies' book points out that these findings should be qualified because Botswana has the highest level of average (per capita) incomes in SADC, hence it should be expected that bank charges would be higher.