The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is in Botswana for their annual Article IV consultative mission. The objective of the mission is for the IMF Article IV team to conduct meetings with Government, Parastatals and Private Sector representatives to assess economic development, policies in general and gather updated information relevant to the mission since the last review in July 2024. The Permanent Secretary, Dr. Alex Kganetsano, led the discussions on the side of the Ministry while Mr. Édouard Martin led the IMF Mission team.
The Mission was informed about the contraction of the economy in the first quarter of 2025, which was recorded at -0.3 percent due to decline in diamond revenues. Weak economic activity in several non-mining sectors such as Agriculture, also contributed to the overall decline in growth. While, some other non-diamond sectors recorded positive growth during the quarter, their performance was not sufficient to offset the downturn experienced in the other sectors of the economy.
Further discussions on 2025/26 Budget Review, Government Debt profile and the Botswana Economic Transformation Programme (BETP) were also held. Senior Policy Advisor, Ms. Naledi Madala informed the IMF Team that the BETP is anchored on Botswana’s “True North”: A digitally enabled, export-driven, and economically diversified high-income economy by 2036, where every citizen is employed, empowered and fulfilled. In addition, the programme represents the Government’s most ambitious diversification drive to date, with clear sectoral priorities endorsed at the Cabinet level.
The IMF Team will end their mission on 26 September 2025. In addition to meetings with Bank of Botswana, Ministry of Finance and several other Ministries, the Team will meet the private sector entities such as Debswana, Commercial Banks, Botswana Development Corporation and Okavango Diamond Company (ODC).