Budget records first surplus in six years

Figures shared by the Finance ministry this week indicate that the rebound in mining activity, particularly around diamonds, helped the budget recover to a surplus from a steep P16.4 billion deficit in the pandemic-hit 2020–21 financial year.

Initially, fiscal authorities had expected the 2021–22 financial year to produce a P10.2 billion deficit which would have represented 5.09 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Earlier this year, however, technocrats in the Finance ministry said higher than expected revenues from mining, a pickup in incomes from the Bank of Botswana and underspending in the development budget had helped the fiscal situation.