AB, BMC queue for P200m bail-outs

The two parastatals are amongst a list of perennially struggling government entities, with AB cutting its workforce by half as part of efforts to trim down and stay afloat. The BMC in recent years, meanwhile, has survived only through government support, piling on hundreds of millions of pula in loans in the process.

According to a supplementary budget request tabled by the Finance Ministry in Parliament this week, Air Botswana is requesting P100 million as “short term” funding to sustain its operations. The national airline’s troubles were worsened by the travel ban in place since April as a response to the COVID-19 onset.