22 May 2025

Botswana’s tough economic times, having contracted by 3 per cent last year and projected to contract further by 0.4 per cent in 2025, calls for innovation from all to turn the tide and move the economy from the woods.

Speaking at the official opening of the 29^th edition of the Business Botswana Northern Trade Fair in Francistown yesterday, the Vice President, Mr Ndaba Gaolathe said the current status meant small businesses were struggling to survive, companies were scaling back operations and entrepreneurs were shelving ideas to ward off pitfalls.

With the nation at the crossroads of an economic downward spiral, he said dependence on mineral revenue was no longer viable.

“We are indeed at a time of reckoning and it has become clear that our longstanding dependence on diamonds has not only become a vulnerability but a strategic liability,” he said. 

He said Botswana’s mineral revenue fell by P17.8 billion in the 2024/25 financial year, pushing the country’s budget deficit to P24.8 billion. 

This unfavourable economic landscape, he noted remained a challenge to implementing the 2025/26 budget.

Mr Gaolathe said the fiscal space was a constraint because the government payment account could not absorb high volumes of payments due to low cash flows.

Adverse as it was, he said, the situation had forced the government to knock on doors, forge new partnerships and secure new funding to steer the economy on the path of growth. 

He said the government had been doing this for the past seven months and engaged with both local and international investors as well as institutions.

He said he was happy that the hardwork put in through such engagements was now bearing fruit, as there were signs of progress.

The Vice President relayed that efforts were put in to ensure that a lot of development was done outside the traditional public expenditure model, where the government was the sole financier of projects.

Mr Gaolathe expressed satisfaction with the growing investor appetite across all sectors of the economy, which he said would, to a certain extent, relieve pressure from the already dwindling government revenue.

He further said the annual Business Botswana Northern Trade Fair was a bold affirmation of commitment to enterprise, resilience and national renewal.

“Business Botswana Northern Trade Fair is a vital platform, a space where resilience meets opportunity, ideas evolve into ventures, and national aspirations are tested, refined and realised through the creativity and resolve of our private sector,” he said.

In his welcome remarks, the mayor of Francistown, Mr Gaone Majere said the northern fair allowed local entrepreneurs to shine, connect and grow.

Since the closure of the Tati Nickel Mine, which was the economic mainstay to the people of Francistown. Mr Majere said the annual northern trade fair had been a solace to the people of Francistown.

“The people of Francistown and the business community know that the show benefits them in many ways,” he said. 

He said this year’s fair came at an opportune time, as the Francistown City Council was about to launch the Local Economic Development strategy, a homegrown model that aimed at empowering locals.

He said the strategy would also help create jobs and uplift the quality of life of the people of Francistown in line with the theme of the fair: Driving Economic Diversification Innovation for Sustainable Growth.

He said the strategy would leverage the city’s strategic location and connectivity to serve as the gateway to the north for the broader SADC region.

The mayor said the city’s top brass was fuelled by the major announcement to reopen the Tati Mine, which, he said, would not only ensure rebirth in mining in the city but also reaffirmed the city’s role as a key player in Botswana’s economic landscape.

He said his ideal Francistown would be a place where one could start, grow and sustain a business, an undertaking the city council took seriously. ENDS