BPOPF�s delicate balancing act
Friday, September 25, 2015
Boitumelo Molefe PIC.KENNEDY RAMOKONE
Sitting on an asset base worth as much as P51 billion ($5 billion), the Botswana Public Officers Pension Fund (BPOPF) is one of the largest pension funds in sub-Saharan Africa. About 35 percent of these funds are invested in Botswana.
Although BPOPF is above the regulatory 30 percent onshore investments threshold, market sentiment, which came to the fore during the recent liquidity shortages in the banking system, is that more pension funds should be brought back home to spur the domestic economy rather than promote the growth of foreign economies.
It is not uncommon in this part of the world for parents to actually punish their children when they show signs of depression associating it with issues of indiscipline, and as a result, the poor child will be lashed or given some kind of punishment. We have had many suicide cases in the country and sadly some of the cases included children and young adults. We need to start looking into issues of mental health with the seriousness it...