The lockdown lasted seven weeks, finally being relaxed on May 21, 2020. During this time movement was restricted and due to the restrictions, the Government of Botswana attempted to assist businesses and individuals against the resultant economic knock. Through the Ministry of Trade and Investment (MITI), an Economic Response Plan was instituted that attempted to assist businesses with the resultant short term cash flow problems resulting from the health restrictions imposed on the economy. Whilst the plan was multi-pronged and comprehensive, unfortunately it had a major blind spot of “missing” the informal sector in Botswana and hence potentially overlooking the biggest category of people affected by the lockdowns.
According to the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (2020) “COVID-19 in Africa: Protecting Lives and Economies”, between 60-75% of adults in Africa are employed in the informal sector in Africa. This number is not as drastic in Botswana, with a 2018 Statistics Botswana survey showing that there are about 105,445 businesses categorised as informal and employing just under 200,000 people (other estimates go as far as 500,000 people). Fifty percent of these businesses are estimated to be retail businesses (think hawkers etc) who would be affected directly by a lockdown restricting movement. It was also seen that majority of them are women with close to 70% of them categorised as single (i.e. supporting a household). Sixty-five percent of these businesses earned less that P36,000 a year, meaning the majority of these businesses are very vulnerable to any income shocks. A study by MITI found that close to 52% of the informal sector recorded zero revenue during the lockdown with a further 25% earning less than P1,000 while 80% of informal businesses registered losses during this period.
