The forecast, which Matambo presented to Parliament in the 2012/13 national budget on Wednesday, falls considerably short of the World Bank's projection of 6.2 percent.Matambo painted a gloomy picture of the Botswana economy for the next two years, with the threat of double dip recession on one side and constrained development expenditure on the other. "In real terms, the economy is projected to grow by 4.4 percent in 2012 and 3.9 percent in 2013," he said. "The mining sector is projected to grow by 1.3 percent in 2012."Due to uncertainties emanating from the US and Euro zone that will result in lower demand for commodities, Botswana's mining output, which surged 9.7 percent in the first nine months of 2011, is expected to stagnate at zero percent growth in 2013.
At 3.9 percent, next year's projected growth rate will be almost half of the 7.2 percent registered in 2010, a year that recorded a GDP growth rate of 12.5 percent before it declined to 7.8 percent last year.The dampened growth outlook is due in part to continued uncertainty in diamond sales, which fell 70 percent from June to December, Matambo said. Diamonds and other minerals account for 40 percent of Botswana's GDP and up to 70 percent of foreign exchange income.
