Reduce inequality for longer growth - IMF

The experts consulted with local fiscal, monetary and private sector players as well as other stakeholders in June, producing two reports detailing its assessment of economic issues in Botswana. In the second of these reports, a "selected issues" note released last Friday, the IMF experts said the gap between the rich and the poor continued to be wide, despite the expansion of welfare programmes and economic growth over the years.

"Botswana has been able to sustain high economic growth for the past five decades and is considered to be one the best performers in sub-Saharan Africa," the IMF researchers said. "However, not all of Botswana's policies promoted inclusive growth and human development in a broad-based manner.