Mineral revenues forecast cut by P2bn

Each year, government’s mineral revenues comprise mineral taxes and royalties paid by different operators, as well as dividends paid to government by those mining companies it has a stake in, such as Debswana.

For the year 2020/21 which starts on April 1, government had initially forecast royalties and dividends of P14.4 billion, compared to P13.6 billion in the current year. The original forecast, made in last month’s budget speech, would have meant royalties and dividends would contribute about 23% of the expected revenues for the year.