• Commonwealth:
• News:
• News Archive Search:
• Commonwealth assists Botswana to boost private sector

Commonwealth assists Botswana to boost private sector

8 January 2008

The Commonwealth Secretariat is assisting Botswana to set up a strategy to boost the performance of its private sector.

The Private Sector Development Strategy (PSDS), to be launched on 14 January, is aimed at contributing to the growth of the country’s economy.

According to Mr Isaac Njoroge, an advisor in the Commonwealth’s Special Advisory Services Division, who is also managing the project, the strategy will help “improve the country’s general business climate, review and assess the required institutional reforms to support private sector development, as well as remove barriers to private sector involvement in trade expansion and productivity improvement.”

Botswana’s economic progress in the last twenty years is one of the few success stories of the African continent. Twenty years ago, Botswana was one of the 20 poorest countries in the world. Today, the country is one the richest non-oil producing country in Africa.

Diamonds are by far the most important source of income for Botswana and account for about 80 per cent of total exports and 45 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP.) By value, Botswana is the biggest producer of diamonds in the world with an annual output of 15 million carats.

However, the country is faced with high rates of unemployment, poverty and high HIV/AIDS infection rates - all of which are threatening the impressive economic gains made over the years.

Longer term economic prospects are overshadowed by the expected levelling off in diamond mining production. Persistent efforts have been made over the last decade to diversify the economy but have met with limited success. It is against this background that the PSDS is being formulated.

Specifically, the strategy will focus on creating enabling conditions where businesses can thrive and prosper, generating business opportunities and catalysing private investments.