27 Feb 2020

 Government Purchase Order (GPO) is to be used as collateral by Small, Micro and Medium Enterprises (SMMEs) to enable them to access finance, Minister of Finance and Economic Development, Dr Thapelo Matsheka has said.

Presenting the 2020/21 budget for the finance ministry in Parliament on February 26, Dr Matsheka said that would benefit local suppliers, especially start-up businesses, which did not have the required financial track record or collateral to access credit from financial institutions such as banks.

He also said the ministry was working towards introducing e-payslip which would reduce the costs of printing pay slips for public officers and further addressing an outcry from those in remote areas who complained of getting theirs late.

That, he said was currently under test but would be rolled out during the 2020/2021 financial year.

The minister indicated that government was also looking into introducing e-procurement which would facilitate ease of doing business by reducing the number of physical interactions and streamlining processes involved.

Minister Matsheka said the system was also expected to reduce the cost of procurement, improve transparency and increase market access and competitiveness.

On the downside, he acknowledged that there would be challenges from unavailability of electricity and network.

He further said there would also be need to train Batswana on how to use the system.

On the other hand, he indicated that Botswana had been placed under ‘grey’ listing by the Financial Action Task Force - International Cooperation Review Group (FAFT/IRG) due to some deficiencies with regard to Anti-Money Laundering or Counter-Financing of Terrorism.

As such, he said six pieces of legislation were passed by Parliament in an effort to be compliant and their implementation would close the gaps identified.

He said an inter-ministerial team was working hard to ensure that the country did not slip into ‘black’ listing but graduate to ‘green’ listing.

Meanwhile, presenting the budget estimates, the minister requested over P1.1 billion, out of which P1bn would cover the ministry’s recurrent budget while over P151 million would cover the development budget.

He said 61.1 per cent of the budget or P612.6m would be allocated to the ministry headquarters.

Of the remaining amount, P110 million would to be allocated to Statistics Botswana, Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Board would get P74.4m while Botswana Institute for Development Policy Analysis (BIDPA) was to receive P20m.

Non-Banking Financial Institutions Regulatory Authority (NBFIRA) has been allocated P18.5m while P13 million would finance the Botswana Accountancy Oversight Authority (BAOA).

Botswana Institute of Chartered Accountants (BICA) is to receive P7.8m.

The minister proposed that the Office of the Accountant General be given over P358 million and also requested a further P30.7m  for the Financial Intelligence Agency.

On the development budget, he said funds would be spent on ministry computerisation, Statistical Surveys and Studies, consultancies and ministry infrastructure. Ends