Pula Fund slips to lows

The prolonged decline in diamond receipts, coupled with steady imports and the lack of other strong foreign currency earners, has meant a slide in the foreign exchange reserves, of which the Pula Fund is the main anchor.

Foreign exchange reserves that are in excess of what is expected to be needed in the medium term are transferred to the Pula Fund and invested abroad. The latest Bank of Botswana (BoB) figures show that the Pula Fund dropped from P39.4 billion in January to P24.9 billion in February, the latter representing a level last seen in 2005. The Pula Fund was measured at P54.3 billion in February 2024.