Recession pulls FDI 69% down
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Yesterday, the government's key foreign investment agency unveiled lacklustre FDI figures for 2009 indicating a 68.8 percent decline in investment to P319.7 million. This was against a target of P550 million for the year.In comparison, in the 2008/09 financial year, BEDIA facilitated foreign investment in Botswana worth P539.9 million against a target of P500 million. Over the same period, these investments created 2, 044 jobs while for the 2009/10 reporting period the P319.7 capital investment created 225 jobs. During both years, the parastatal had targeted the creation of 2, 500 jobs.
Explaining the slump, BEDIA Chief Executive Officer, Jacob Nkate, said like similar organisations around the world, their ability to lure investors suffered in 2009 as a direct result of the global recession.
The recent disclosure by the IEC that 2,513 registrations have been turned down due to various irregularities should prompt all Batswana to meticulously review the voters' rolls and address concerns about rejected registrations.The disparities flagged by the IEC are troubling and emphasise the significance of rigorous voter registration processes.Out of the rejected registrations, 29 individuals were disqualified due to non-existent Omang...