19 March 2024
S&P Global, an international provider of information and benchmark prices for the commodity and energy markets, has forecast a rebound in Botswana’s economic growth in 2024.
“We are affirming our ‘BBB+/A-2’ ratings on Botswana and the Bank of Botswana (BoB). The outlooks are stable,” said S&P Global Ratings analyst Ravi Bhatia in a statement issued by the BoB on Monday.
Bhatia said the observations come ahead of the October 2024 elections and the expansionary budget for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2025.
“Although we expect this to increase the fiscal deficit in that year, we anticipate that the government will aim to reduce the deficit in its budgets for the following years.”
“We project that Botswana will maintain a strong net external asset position and report further current account surpluses over 2023-2027,” said Bhatia.
The projection follows a downturn late last year driven by India’s temporary pause on diamond imports. According to S&P Global, the stable outlook indicates that Botswana’s gross domestic product growth will remain relatively resilient and that this will, in turn, support export receipts and fiscal revenue.
Commenting on the development, Seamogano Mosanako, head of Communications and Information Services at BoB, said the ratings affirm the country’s general good economic performance and management.
“Therefore, reinforcing the need to maintain strong institutions and policy frameworks that deliver macroeconomic stability, it underscores the importance of ensuring traction of ongoing economic structural transformation and policy reforms by the government,” said Mosanako.
Mosanako observed that it is necessary to accelerate economic diversification and industrialisation, rebuilding fiscal buffers and overall economic stability and resilience.
Source: https://english.news.cn/africa/20240318/49943bb376d746cc83b0ca01d3be94a3/c.html
