Mining, water and power woes drag economy into red

Morupule B plant constantly broke down last year
Morupule B plant constantly broke down last year

Real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth for 2015 printed at -0.3 percent year-on-year compared to 3.2 percent in 2014, the first annual negative growth rate recorded since the 2008 global financial crisis.

According to figures released by Statistics Botswana, the disappointing print can be largely attributed to negative mining GDP growth of -19.7 percent as well as underperformance in the non-mining private sector.

 Negative growth was also recorded in the water and electricity sectors in 2015.

Editor's Comment
Batswana need to do better to stop FMD

It is a clear signal that the government’s purse is empty and that our own behaviour has left veterinary officials fighting with one hand tied behind their backs. We have been here before. During COVID-19, many of us thought we knew better. We ignored simple rules, we carried on as if the danger was someone else’s problem, and the virus took lives and left our economy on its knees. We are still broke from that experience. Yet now, with FMD...

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