Markets indifferent to Matambo's appointment

President Ian Khama last Friday appointed the former Managing Director of the Botswana Development Corporation (BDC), Kenneth Matambo, as Acting Minister of Finance and Development Planning while the substantive minister, Baledzi Gaolathe, is on a leave of compassion due to ill- health.

Matambo's acting tenure will run for four months effective from August 1. In more developed markets, including South Africa, the reaction to a new appointment of such a profile is usually reflected in movements in economic indicators such as the stock market, the exchange rate and business and investor confidence.