10 Nov 2015

President Lt Gen. Seretse Khama Ian Khama says the 2014/15 financial year has a budget surplus of P5.34 billion, which is slightly lower than the P7.22 billion recorded in 2013/14. 

In his State-of-the-Nation Address on Monday, President Khama said for the 2014/15 financial year, total expenditure and net lending was P50.56 billion, which was 95 per cent of the revised budget estimate of P53.22 billion. 

He said out of that, recurrent expenditure amounted to P37.58 billion while development expenditure was P13.07 billion. 

President Khama said the preparation of the National Development Plan (NDP) 11 had progressed alongside formulation of the new vision to take the country beyond 2016. 

He said a consultation framework for the next vision was drafted in April 2015 allowing preparation for NDP 11 to also move forward. 

Furthermore, President Khama said the government remained committed to the global partnership programme with the World Bank on Wealth Accounting and Valuation of Ecosystems (WAVES). 

Through the programme, he said the government was developing natural capital accounts for water, minerals, energy and tourism. 

“The information obtained from these accounts will guide policy decisions during the implementation phase of NDP 11,” he said. He added that results from the water accounts were already guiding the government on its planning. 

“More broadly developing natural capital accounts gives us a truer picture of the economic contribution of natural resources,” he said. President Khama said the WAVES programme should foster sustainable development strategies, while providing a complement to the GDP as a measure of economic growth. Ends