Darkening economic clouds to greet election victor
Friday, October 18, 2019
BCL workers at BCL mine
Former president, Ian Khama knows the feeling all too well. When he won his first term in October 2009, he was welcomed by the country’s worst economic crisis, in which the global financial crisis collapsed the diamond sector.
The economy shrank by 7.7 percent, shed thousands of jobs and forced the country to borrow US$1.5 billion from the African Development Bank.
Whilst celebrating milestones in inclusivity, with notably P5 billion awarded to vulnerable groups, the report sounds a 'siren' on a dangerous and growing trend: the ballooning use of micro-procurement. That this method, designed for small-scale, efficient purchases, now accounts for a staggering 25% (P8 billion) of total procurement value is not a sign of agility, but a 'red flag'. The PPRA’s warning is unequivocal and must be...