Botswana economy forecast to grow 8.8 pct in 2021: official

GABORONE, Feb. 23 — Botswana’s economy is forecast to grow by 8.8 percent in 2021, an official said Tuesday.
The improvement is premised on conducive financing conditions associated with accommodative monetary policy and a sound financial environment, said Moses Pelaelo, the Bank of Botswana (BoB) Governor when presenting the 2021 monetary policy statement in Gaborone, Botswana’s capital city.
“In addition to the accommodative monetary policy and a sound financial environment, the mid-term review of the National Development Plan 11, supported by effective implementation of the Economic Recovery and Transformation Plan, provides added impetus for positive economic prospects,” said Pelaelo.
Based on available data, Pelaelo said the current projections suggest that domestic inflation will, in the short term, revert to and remain within the bank’s medium-term objective range of 3 to 6 percent.
The implementation of monetary policy will continue to focus on entrenching expectations of low, predictable, and sustainable inflation, through timely responses to price developments while at the same time taking due care to ensure those policy decisions are consistent with durable financial stability and support sustainable economic growth and employment creation, he said.

– Xinhua