30 Jan 2014

The Minister of Finance and Development Planning, Mr Kenneth Matambo, will on February 3 present to Parliament and the nation, the 2014/15 budget.

BOPA went down memory lane to look at some of the issues he raised almost a year ago in his 2013/14 budget speech. One of the points that stand out is the achievement of a budget surplus by the second half of the National Development Plan (NDP 10).

Mr Matambo said the strategy for both the mid-term review and the budget was to return to high growth through increased productivity and competitiveness while constraining government expenditure levels.

Mr Matambo said all ministries and departments should strive to ensure continued improvement of their respective identified priority areas.

On the economic outlook, he said the domestic economy experienced some depressing developments during 2012, ranging from declining output of the diamond sector, to a countrywide drought and damage caused by the recent floods, among others.

Furthermore, there were delays in completing some mega projects such as Morupule B and the connection of additional power supply to the national grid.

He said given these challenges, prospects of the domestic economy therefore remained fragile as it faced global economic volatilities, particularly diamond exports, which were destined for developed countries. On the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rate, Mr Matambo said he expected it to be 5.9 percent and nominal GDP was anticipated to reach about P130 billion in 2013.

Meanwhile, the minister said a wide range of policies and programmes such as the Internship Programme, Youth Development Fund, LIMID, Youth Empowerment Scheme (YES), Diamond Hub, Innovation Hub and Economic Diversification Drive have been established to address issues of unemployment and job creation.

A new addition to these programmes is the revamped Tirelo Setshaba programme that will start in April. On poverty reduction, Minister Matambo said government adopted Local Economic Development (LED) as a key strategic initiative contributing to the National Strategy for Poverty Reduction. He said a Local Economic Development Policy was being prepared.

The minister said in order to promote investment and trade, the Botswana Investment and Trade Centre (BITC) has set out to create operational synergies with other organisations such as the Local Enterprise Authority (LEA), Citizen Entrepreneurial Development Agency (CEDA), Botswana Development Corporation (BDC), the Botswana Tourism Organisation (BTO), the hubs, District Development Committees (DDCs) as well as embassies and high commissions.

Mr Matambo said about public sector reforms that the efficiency and effectiveness of the public sector remained vital to the success of national development initiatives.

He said implementation of key reforms in areas such as Public Finance Management, Public Service Management and Administrative Policy and transparent Public Service operations, was continuing. Mr Matambo said the use of thematic working groups in the planning process should assist improve resource allocation and synergies in project management.

Concerning projects development, the minister said the government would undertake mega projects that included Kazungula Bridge, integrated transport project, Morupule B project and the Tonota-Francistown dual carriage way road. ENDS