25 Nov 2020

The financial sector has been identified as one of the sectors that can drive economic diversification, Minister of Finance and Economic Development Dr Thapelo Matsheka has said.

Officially opening Palapye Botswana Savings Bank (BSB) branch recently, Dr Matsheka said his ministry had enacted laws and policies that regulated and facilitated the private sector to provide improved financial services. 

He explained that in 2014 the ministry developed the Financial Inclusion Strategy from 2015 to 2021, which aimed at improving access to financial services and reducing the percentage of the financially excluded population from 24 to 12 per cent by 2021. 

He said the strategy had five priority areas which were aimed at improving the payment ecosystem, access to low cost saving products, accessible risk mitigation products, the working of the credit market and consumer empowerment, protection and financial literacy.

He noted that as part of implementing the financial inclusion strategy, government was currently developing legislation that would promote access to credit. 

The other legislation would provide for regulation of the credit reporting system and the credit bureaus’ operations in Botswana.  

He said that the legislation would provide for the creation of security interests in movable property, and harmonisation of all secured transaction laws. 

“This will enable the public to access credit in financial institutions, as well as have legal protection on their secured interests. The legislation will allow individuals with movable property such as motor vehicles, tractors, farm produce, and intellectual property rights to use these as collateral to secure loans from financial institutions,” he said 

Concerning BSB, Dr Matsheka said his ministry had appointed BSB to champion one of the priority areas in the ‘Financial Inclusion Agenda’, which is ‘Facilitation of Low Cost, Accessible Savings Products in Botswana’.

He said under this mandate, the bank was expected to develop low cost, accessible, flexible savings products for the lower income segment of the population, who were currently excluded.  

“The bank is indeed a committed partner, and a strategic stakeholder that has contributed significantly towards financial education and financial inclusion,” he said.

Dr Matsheka commended BSB for increasing its foot print in the country and for choosing Palapye as another destination to provide their banking services. 

He said Palapye was a steadily growing village, with upcoming infrastructure and developments. 

Therefore,he said that the branch was strategically located along the A1 Road at the Riverview Mall, where it created  convenience and access even more possible for the community.  

The BSB CEO, Mr Nixon Marumoloa said as a government-owned bank, BSB had the responsibility of advocating for financial inclusion in Botswana. 

He said BSB was key player in the economy and development of the country. 

He said the bank had deployed various strategies of branch and channel distribution expansion across different areas of the country.Palapye MP, Mr Onneetse Ramogapi said that it was a welcome move for BSB to open shop in Palapye. 

He said it was evident that with another bank such as BSB opening in the village as well as the expansion of Morupule Coal Mine, development and up grading of Botswana Power Cooperation (BPC) Morupule Power Plants and BIUST, Palapye had overgrown the village status.

 He called on government to consider the request to upgrade Palapye to a town considering the population and developments. ends