Subdued economy batters business confidence

Mohohlo
Mohohlo

The level of optimism among businesses continues to deteriorate as the economy battles to recover from last year’s negative economic growth rate. In a Business Expectation Survey (BES) report released this week, the Bank of Botswana (BoB) says overall business confidence as measured by the Business Confidence Index (BCI) deteriorated from 44% in September last year to 36% in March 2016.

“The overall confidence in the prevailing business conditions is at 36%, eight percentage points lower than the level that prevailed during the September 2015 survey.

“This was considerably lower than the 45% expected for this period at the time of the previous survey, a clear indication that expectations have been revised downwards. The continued subdued level of confidence possibly reflects the recurring water shortages in the greater Gaborone area as well as the continuing risk of power outages,” stated the central bank. The BCI value varies from zero to 100, with zero indicating extreme lack of confidence, while 100 indicates extreme confidence.

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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