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Botswana’s rising government debt

Balancing act: Serame’s inflation relief was necessary but is expected to widen the budget deficit and require further funding PIC: MORERI SEJAKGOMO
Balancing act: Serame’s inflation relief was necessary but is expected to widen the budget deficit and require further funding PIC: MORERI SEJAKGOMO

The country's national debt rises year-on-year with 2021 closing off at $3.5 billion (approximately P38 billion), a cumulative rise of 0.5 percent from 2020.

This is estimated around the same levels ten years back although it had been brought down over the years as a percentage of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Does this development raise any eyebrows?

Many may wonder what has contributed to these significantly high levels of debt and if this is sustainable in the long term. Can the economy survive in the wake of another global recession or global crisis?

Editor's Comment
Gov't must empower DCEC urgently

As the new Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) government takes charge, it must act decisively to equip the Directorate on Corruption and Economic Crime (DCEC) with the tools, laws, and resources needed to combat graft. The time for half-measures is over. DCEC Director-General, Botlhale Makgekgenene’s, recent address to the Public Accounts Committee paints a stark picture. Over five years, leadership instability, chronic underfunding and weak...

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