According to a CENBAN official, Botswana might not meet its 4.2% growth objective

Citing both internal and international limitations, a top central bank official warned on Tuesday that Botswana’s economy might not develop at the 4.2% annual rate set by the government.

In a budget statement in February, Finance Minister Peggy Serame projected a 4.2% increase in GDP, stating that the government expects growth to pick up speed starting in 2023 as a result of stronger performance in the diamond sector. The GDP increased by 2.7% in 2023.

Nonetheless, Botswana’s mining industry, which is mostly focused on diamonds, is still having difficulty, which is indicative of the world’s weak market conditions.

In the first quarter of 2024, sales at Debswana Diamond Company, a joint venture between the government of the southern African nation and Anglo American’s De Beers business, decreased by almost 48% year over year.

“From what we have seen in the first half of the year, unfavorable global economic conditions … as well as domestic structural constraints, one would expect that we are unlikely to attain the projected economic growth,”

The director of research and financial stability at the central bank, Innocent Molalapata, stated during an economic briefing.

Molalapata stated, “A downward revision of the growth target might therefore be required,” noting that the first quarter’s mining output had decreased by almost 27%.

The finance ministry is usually the one to provide accurate GDP growth projections, not the Bank of Botswana.

According to IMF projections, Botswana’s GDP will expand by 3.6% in 2024.