Gov’t reserves slip
Government reserves continued a slight dip seen in recent months, moving to P15.38 billion in June from P15.43 billion in May, the latest figures from the Bank of Botswana indicate. The reserves, which are housed in the Government Investment Account (GIA), were measured at P16.1 billion in April, from P11.4 billion in March. Despite the marginal drop between May and June, the reserves are following a recovery path, having dropped to a record low of P3.3 billion in December 2020 due to withdrawals by the treasury to finance the pandemic response. The reserves were measured at P18.3 billion in April 2020 when the virus was first confirmed in the country and have remained below that level since then. The P16.1 billion in April was the highest level since COVID-19 arrived in the country. The recovery in the GIA has been on the back of the rebound in diamond exports as well as receipts from external loans such as the $250 million World Bank support secured last year. The once-off Special Drawing Rights’ allocation by the International Monetary Fund of about P3 billion, also contributed to the positive reserves figure, officials said recently.