TheVoiceBW
Friday, 11 Jul 2025
  • Home
  • E-Paper
  • News
  • Business
  • Politics
  • Sports
E-Paper
Login
  • Voice Money
  • Court Stories
  • The Big Interview
  • Opinions
  • International
  • TICKITO
TheVoiceBWTheVoiceBW
Font ResizerAa
Search
  • Home
  • E-Paper
  • News
  • Business
  • Politics
  • Sports
Have an existing account? Sign In
Follow US
© 2025 The Voice Newspaper Botswana. All Rights Reserved.
TheVoiceBW > Blog > Business > Diamonds sparkle to aid economic growth
Business

Diamonds sparkle to aid economic growth

Kabelo Adamson
Last updated: 14/06/2022 15:31
By
Kabelo Adamson
ByKabelo Adamson
Follow:
Share
4 Min Read
Diamonds sparkle to aid economic growth
AIDING THE ECONOMY: Diamonds
SHARE

Boosted by a late surge from the ever-reliable diamond industry, Botswana’s economy grew by 11.4 percent last year, leaving the initial projection of 8.1 percent in the dust.

Announcing the better-than-expected numbers when appearing before the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on Monday, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Finance, Dr Wilfred Mandlebe explained the growth was led by diamonds.

“Specifically for domestic economy, this 11.4 percent was underpinned by the recovery in the diamond market,” he declared, adding the economy picked up as Covid-19 subsided in the final months of 2021.

He did point out, however, that although pleasing, the country should not get too carried away as the growth was on the back of a disastrous starting point.

- Advertisement -

“The recovery that we saw in 2021, both in the global and domestic economy was underpinned by the fact that the economies had contracted previously, so, there is an element of base effect there,” clarified Mandlebe.

More Read

BLLAHWU, DPSM agree on P4, 000 min wage
Primetime’s revenue surge
All change at Pick n Pay
Scanning new territory

In 2020, when Covid was in full force, the country’s economy shrunk by 8.9 percent, having grown by 3 percent in 2019.

Meanwhile, Mandlebe told the PAC that Botswana is seeing some improvements regarding budget deficits.

Diamonds sparkle to aid economic growth
MINISTRY OF FINANCE PS: Wilfred Mandlebe

“Last year we projected that the deficit for 2020/2021 was going to be P21 billion, and for 2021/2022 we were projecting a deficit of P6 billion. Now, where we are, the final outcome for 2020/2021 was a negative P16 billion,” revealed the Finance P.S, noting this was a significant upturn from what was originally feared.

More Read

OWS supplier expo returns
Economy grinds to a halt
Debswana slashes diamond output
Botswana lures more flights

For the just ended financial year 2021/2022, Mandlebe told the committee, which is chaired by Selebi Phikwe West lawmaker, Dithapelo Keorapetse, that the ministry had projected a deficit of P6 billion with the actual deficit being P125 million.

- Advertisement -

According to the P.S, there are three reasons for the improvement.

“First is the improved mineral revenues. As we know, towards the end of last year, the diamond market started picking up and we managed to collect what we had budgeted for,” he said.

The second factor Mabdlebe listed was the higher Bank of Botswana (BoB) revenue, which he said was due to valuable gains in the reserves.

- Advertisement -

“Third, which is not something to write home about, is under expenditure in the development budget. So a combination of all those factors resulted in a small surplus that we are expecting,” he stated.

Looking forward, the ministry had a positive outlook in terms of diamonds.

More Read

Ending the CIT crimes scare
Hair raising
Sow much grain!
Hungry to help

However, the number cruncher warned there are still some significant risks, including the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, which has been raging since February.

“Much in the short term we may gain as a diamond producer, we believe that in the long term there might be a problem,” he noted.

Another issue that Mandlebe highlighted was the improvement in the Government Investment Account (GIA), which grew from P4 billion in 2020 and now sits at P18 billion as of May this year.

The GIA forms part of the Pula Fund which was established in 1994 for purposes of preserving part of the income from diamond exports for future generations.

TAGGED:Bank of Botswana (BoB)diamond industrydiamond marketdomestic economyDr Wilfred MandlebeGovernment Investment Account (GIA)Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of FinancePublic Accounts Committee (PAC)RussiaUkraine
Share This Article
Email Copy Link Print
Previous Article Green with envy! Green with envy!
Next Article Fatal blow Fatal blow
Leave a Comment

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

1.20MFollowersLike
123.5kFollowersFollow
103.3kFollowersFollow
11.1kSubscribersSubscribe
31kFollowersFollow
RSS FeedFollow
Most Read

Nurse loses P210, 000 to Forex scammer

Mum commits suicide in the kitchen

Diamonds sparkle to aid economic growth

Diamonds sparkle to aid economic growth

Diamonds sparkle to aid economic growth

Diamonds sparkle to aid economic growth

Khawa tragedy: victims to be laid to rest this weekend

Missing man found dead in police mortuary

Truck driver dies in freak crash

Diamonds sparkle to aid economic growth

Diamonds sparkle to aid economic growth

Teen’s night of terror

Missing man found dead

- Advertisement -
Politics
Hotel unveils luxury River Chalets
Business Entertainment

Hotel unveils luxury River Chalets

Botswana’s solar dream
Business News

Botswana’s solar dream

Business

Marang Hotel unveils luxury river chalets

Zim trade mission heading for BW
Business News

Zim trade mission heading for BW

Wilderness launches emergency food relief initiative amid prolonged drought
Business News

Wilderness launches emergency food relief initiative amid prolonged drought

  • Quick Links:
  • News
  • Latest News
  • Entertainment
  • Business
  • News
  • Entertainment
  • Sports
  • Court Stories
  • Business
  • Politics
TheVoiceBW
The Voice is a print and online newspaper based in Botswana founded in Francistown in 1993 as The Francistowner Extra, in 1999 it opened offices in the national capital, Gaborone.
Quick Links
  • My account
  • Choose Plan
About Company
  • Contact us
  • Advertising

© 2025 – The Voice Botswana. All Rights Reserved.