MEFMI > AboutMEFMI > Current News > debt management > MEFMI assists Botswana to conduct Debt Sustainability Analysis

MEFMI assists Botswana to conduct Debt Sustainability Analysis

  • January 13, 2020
  • Posted by: admin
  • Categories: Current News, debt management
No Comments

Botswana is one of the few countries in Sub-Saharan Africa that has over the past decades implemented prudent economic policies and preserved macroeconomic stability, including a low level of public debt. Consequently, it has made huge strides in socioeconomic development, transforming from an underdeveloped country into a middle-income country.

This notwithstanding, the country still remains vulnerable to exogenous shocks, particularly volatilities in commodity prices.  Furthermore, the past few years have seen the Government of Botswana running fiscal deficits owing to weaknesses in the diamond market, severe droughts and decreases in Southern African Customs Union (SACU) receipts. The need to implement the priority areas outlined in the country’s National Development Plan (2017 – 2023) may also exert pressure to the fiscus, leading to an increase in public debt going forward.

In light of these developments, the Botswana Ministry of Finance conducted its first debt sustainability analysis, which aimed to assess the impact of growing fiscal pressures on the country’s public debt sustainability with the findings expected to inform the government’s borrowing policies going forward. In addition, the workshop sought to build capacity of government officials to use the IMF/World Bank Debt Sustainability Framework (DSF) for Market Access Countries (MAC) to assess debt sustainability. The DSA workshop was held from 25 to 29 November 2019 at Avani Hotel in Botswana.

The MEFMI team which assisted the officials in conducting the DSA included Messrs Nebson Mupunga and Patrick Ndzinisa (both MEFMI Accredited Fellows) Mr Yasin Mayanja, (a Candidate Fellow) and Ms. Josephine Tito, MEFMI Programme Manager.

The key output of the DSA was a debt sustainability analysis report detailing the key findings from the exercise.  In addition, capacity of eleven (11) government officials to conduct debt sustainability analysis, using the IMF’s framework for Market Access Countries was enhanced.