Mining, water and power woes drag economy into red

Morupule B plant constantly broke down last year
Morupule B plant constantly broke down last year

Real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth for 2015 printed at -0.3 percent year-on-year compared to 3.2 percent in 2014, the first annual negative growth rate recorded since the 2008 global financial crisis.

According to figures released by Statistics Botswana, the disappointing print can be largely attributed to negative mining GDP growth of -19.7 percent as well as underperformance in the non-mining private sector.

 Negative growth was also recorded in the water and electricity sectors in 2015.

Editor's Comment
The corrupt must be punished

The findings reveal a disturbing pattern of misconduct and lack of transparency that cannot be ignored.The Tribunal, led by Judge President Justice Kabelo Lebotse, has rightly condemned the Ministry for its eyebrow raising conduct in awarding a P1.8 billion water tender to China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (Pty) Ltd and Zhong Gan Engineering & Construction Corporation (Pty) Ltd.The award was made despite alleged clear evidence that...

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