1998 SOUTHERN AFRICA ECONOMIC ... - National Treasury

A recent event in the political scenario has been the re t i re m e n t
of Sir Ketumile Masire, who has held the country ’s pre s i d e n c y
for a period of 18 years and whose political career stre t c h e s
over 32 ye a r s . He has been succeeded by former Finance
Minister and Vice Pre s i d e n t ,Mr Festus Mogae, who will re m a i n
as head of state until the next elections.
The financial district of Gaborone.
G E N E R A L I N F O R M AT I O N
G e og r ap hy and Po p u l a t i o n
B o t swana is a landlocked country, b o rd e red by A n gola and
Z a m b i a ,N a m i b i a ,Mozambique and South A f r i c a ,with an area of
about 585,000 km 2 .The Kalahari desert occupies most parts of
the country and the population is re l a t i ve ly rural, but growth in
urbanization has also been incre a s i n g . Languages spoken in
B o t swana are Setswana and English, and the capital city is
G a b o ro n e. B o t swana has a population of ap p rox i m a t e ly 1.5m
(1997 estimate).
B o t swana is ranked 97 on the UNDP’s HDI 1 ) (1997) out of 175
c o u n t r i e s ,a c h i eving a place in the medium development range.
This ranking is the third-highest in the SADC countries, b e h i n d
Mauritius (61) and South Africa (90).
Political Ove rv i ew
Since independence the political system in Botswana has been
based on a stable mu l t i - p a rty democracy with a bicameral
p a r l i a m e n t a ry system. The two houses of parliament consist of
the House of Chiefs (a 15-member council serving as advisor to
the President) and the National A s s e m b ly (a 44-member
a s s e m b ly, with 40 of its members elected by popular vote and
the remaining 4 appointed by the majority part y ) . The Pre s i d e n t
is elected by the legislature.
The Botswana Democratic Party has remained the dominant
political part y, dating back to independence.A number of other
p a rties exist, and constitute the opposition. The main
opposition party is the Botswana National Front with other
political players being the Botswana Pe o p l e ’s Part y, t h e
Independent Freedom Part y, and the Botswana Political Union.
1) The ranking is based on life expectancy at birt h , adult literacy, c o m b i n e d
p r i m a ry, s e c o n d a ry and tert i a ry education enrolment ratio and adjusted re a l
GDP per cap i t a .
Sectoral Description
After South Africa and the Democratic Republic of Congo,
B o t swana is now the third largest African mineral pro d u c e r.T h e
p roduction of diamonds continues to play a prime role in the
e c o n o my as the country ’s biggest earner of fo reign exchange.
Other significant minerals produced include copper- n i c ke l ,s o d a
ash and coal, as well as small quantities of go l d .
L i vestock pro d u c t i o n , m a i n ly cattle farming, is the other
cornerstone of Botsw a n a ’s economy. In an attempt to limit the
dependence on this industry the government is seeking to
s t i mulate the diversification of agricultural pro d u c t i o n .
U n f avourable climatic conditions have become a limiting factor
in the growing of cro p s , hence sorghum is naturally the most
arable crop due to its drought resilient characteristics.
The performance of the industrial sector has in the past been
c o n s t r a i n e d ,to a certain extent, by a limited domestic marke t ,a
lack of an adequate pool of managerial personnel and by
competition from South A f r i c a .N eve rt h e l e s s ,e x p o rts of nontraditional
products have grown significantly in recent ye a r s .
H oweve r, vast opportunities remain untapped in sectors such as
food pro c e s s i n g , e l e c t ronics equipment, t e x t i l e s , and the
m a nu f a c t u re of soda ash pro d u c t s .
C o n t i nued stability and improving infrastructure in the country
should enhance tourism’s position as another import a n t
reve nue earner for Botsw a n a . Major attractions include the
O k av a n go Delta, the Kalahari Game Reserve, M a k g a d i k g a d i
P a n s ,Chobe National Park and the Tuli Block.
I n f r a s t r u c t u re
In spite of Botsw a n a ’s arid climate, 93 percent of the population
h ave access to safe water, and 55 percent have adequate
s a n i t a t i o n ,a c c o rding to the 1997 UNDP Human Deve l o p m e n t
R e p o rt . The first phase of the USD300m North-South Wa t e r
C a rrier Project was completed in October 1997. The whole
p roject will be completed in 1999. Some electricity is pro d u c e d
by Botswana and the rest is imported from South A f r i c a ,Z a m b i a
and Namibia.
B o t swana has a we l l - d eveloped air and road transport a t i o n
n e t wo r k . T h e re are five international airport s , situated in
G a b o ro n e, F r a n c i s t ow n ,K a s a n e, S e l e b i - P h i k we and Maun. T h e
c o u n t ry ’s road network extends over 8,700km, and the
government has allocated over BWP200m for the construction
of roads in 1998/99. S a fety and protection on the roads is
governed by the Road Traffic A c t ,with the Road and Tr a n s p o rt
Act enabling the regulation of passenger transport and haulage.
The telecommunications sector has been undergo i n g
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