mmegi

BoB! Stop raising rates and focus on fuel costs

Testing times: The Bank of Botswana has raised interest rates three times this year but inflation continues to rise PIC: MORERI SEJAKGOMO
Testing times: The Bank of Botswana has raised interest rates three times this year but inflation continues to rise PIC: MORERI SEJAKGOMO

In the Mmegi edition of June 24, 2022, I wrote about how the Bank of Botswana (BoB) and the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development (MoF) needed to think outside the box about how to fight rampant inflation.

At that time, we had seen the BoB raise its Monetary Policy Rate by 50 basis points (0.5%) in order to try to slow down inflation in the economy.

In that article, I had written about how following textbook economics, this move could be argued as correct but if you looked at the type of inflation being experienced and the current poor economic situation where the average Motswana is struggling, this might not have been the best move.

Editor's Comment
The Boko-led administration has to tread carefully

‘When you make peace withyourself, you make peace with the world’- Maha GhosanandaThis may come at a huge cost if not handled properly. What started off on Labour Day in Letlhakane this year, where Boko was in attendance when the militant lawyer-cum-trade unionist, Robert Rabasimane rebutted the President’s address in defence of the trade union has seemingly spiralled out of control. The issue is now creating a cat-and-mouse type of a...

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