24 Aug 2026

Government remains resolute to deliver on its mandate amid severe fiscal deficits due to declining diamond revenues and depleted foreign reserves.

Delivering a midterm briefing on the performance of government yesterday, Minister for State President, Defence and Security, Mr Moeti Mohwasa said government was focused on building an economy that worked for more people as well as on reforming institutions of the state in an effort to place Botswana on a more inclusive and sustainable path.

Mr Mohwasa highlighted that maintaining core public administration and institutional frameworks remained vital for national stability, even when fiscal constraints, bureaucratic backlogs and resource limitations continued to test state capacity.

Further, he also reaffirmed government’s commitment to restore dignity in public services and to strengthen social protection.

“The record emerging from the first two years is one of substantial implementation under difficult fiscal conditions, as government has, among the many achievements, expanded direct support to older persons, introduced a child support grant, begun national provision of sanitary pads to female learners, increased tertiary student allowances, ensured attainment of P4 000 living wages,” Mr Mohwasa said.

To that end, he stated that the progress made to date demonstrated government’s commitment to moving beyond policy commitments and creating tangible opportunities for Batswana, adding that the clearest evidence of delivery was in the number of citizens who have received a tangible benefit. Additionally, Mr Mohwasa reiterated government’s ambition to build fiscal resilience, observing that the state of the Government Investment Account (GIA) was one of the clearest indicators of the fiscal constraints confronting the country and of the work required to rebuild national buffers.

He said there was urgent need for the account to be assessed carefully as it was prone to be affected by revenue inflows, expenditure, financing operations and valuation movements.

“Government has demonstrated an ability to rebuild the GIA materially during 2025, as it increased from P2.91 billion by November 2025 and closed July 2026 at approximately P5 billion,” he said.

Minister Mohwasa therefore indicated that the appropriate midterm status illustrated that government had begun rebuilding depleted fiscal buffers, though the fiscal restoration was incomplete.

Fiscal performance, he said, should therefore be judged on protecting essential delivery while rebuilding the capacity of the state to absorb future shocks.

For this reason, Minister Mohwasa stressed that the second half of the term should be reported against a set of national outcome measures which include jobs created and sustained, household income and cost-of-living relief, access to quality health and education as well as the sustained level of fiscal buffers, including the GIA and the broader net financial asset position. ENDS