• BVI ships over 500 000 doses of FMD vaccines to SAJuly 2, 2025
    … as the country grapples with the worst outbreak in years STAFF WRITER RelatedPosts BVI ships over 500 000 doses of FMD vaccines to SA Tshekedi in BPF race BTCL enjoys strong growth editors@thepatriot.co.bw Botswana Vaccine Institute (BVI) has… Read more: BVI ships over 500 000 doses of FMD vaccines to SA
  • Tshekedi in BPF raceJuly 2, 2025
    Launches campaign ahead of BPF elective congress Tshekedi is heir to BPF throne, an Ian Khama’s creation – Analyst BAKANG TIRO editors@thepatriot.co.bw RelatedPosts BVI ships over 500 000 doses of FMD vaccines to SA Tshekedi in BPF race BTCL… Read more: Tshekedi in BPF race
  • CHOPPIES – FINANCE MANAGERJune 30, 2025
    RelatedPosts CHOPPIES – FINANCE MANAGER LIQUID INTELLIGENT TECHNOLOGIES BOTSWANA – SOLUTIONS ARCHITECT LIQUID INTELLIGENT TECHNOLOGIES BOTSWANA – HEAD OF SALES
  • BTCL enjoys strong growthJune 30, 2025
    Revenue jumps 4% to P1.49 billion Strong 2024 growth attributed to strategy Profit before Tax reaches P259 million, up 30%   BAKANG TIRO RelatedPosts BVI ships over 500 000 doses of FMD vaccines to SA Tshekedi in BPF race… Read more: BTCL enjoys strong growth
  • Motsepe, Butterfly’s last laughJune 30, 2025
    Court orders Botswana govt to apologise to Bridgette Motsepe Apology to cover Ian Khama, Isaac Kgosi, Welheminah Maswabi Botswana to settle huge legal bills, costs for publishing apologies As former President Mokgweetsi Masisi’s blunder haunts Botswana STAFF WRITERS editors@thepatriot.co.bw… Read more: Motsepe, Butterfly’s last laugh
  • Home
  • News
  • Business
  • Lifestyle
  • Sport
  • Analysis & Opinions
  • Vacancies & Tenders
  • Login
  • Register
Saturday, July 5, 2025
17 °c
Gaborone
21 ° Tue
22 ° Wed
24 ° Thu
26 ° Fri
The Patriot On Sunday
Subscribe
Advertisement
  • Home
  • News
  • Business
  • Lifestyle
  • Sport
  • Analysis & Opinions
  • Vacancies & Tenders
No Result
View All Result
Cart / $0.00

No products in the cart.

  • Home
  • News
  • Business
  • Lifestyle
  • Sport
  • Analysis & Opinions
  • Vacancies & Tenders
No Result
View All Result
The Patriot On Sunday
No Result
View All Result
Home News

Hard times are here!

patriot by patriot
February 8, 2021
in News
242
0
491
SHARES
1.4k
VIEWS
ShareShareShare
  • Worst economic depression looms, Govt retrenches
  • After a bruising 2020, huge taxes to impoverish ordinary citizens
  • Alcohol ban haunts government coffers

BAKANG TIRO

editors@thepatriot.co.bw

RelatedPosts

Tshekedi in BPF race

Motsepe, Butterfly’s last laugh

ILLEGAL WILDLIFE TRADE RISING

The Deputy Secretary General of Botswana Federation of Public, Private and Parastatal Workers Union (BOFEPUSU) Ketlhalefile Motshegwa said government intention to retrench workers is bad move.

Motshegwa said the pronouncement by Matsheka that 50% of government vacant posts will be scrapped off would result in a serious economic depression amidst higher unemployment level. He is worried that the country would be thrown deeper into economic depression adding that Botswana doesn’t have a large vibrant private sector that create jobs while government cannot.

“Government is the largest employer in Botswana and for it to freeze jobs means that there is a lot problems. The government has over the years decried high wage bill. The research we have conducted shows that the super scale public servants in E and F earn a lot hence this is hitting hard on the government coffers. Taxes and levies will affect workers negatively too,” he said, adding that the issue of underperforming parastatals is fueled by poor governance.

According to Motshegwa, incompetent people are appointed to the boards not based on merit but on nepotism or political connections therefore it opens room for poor governance leading to crisis. He added that lack of decent living wage would also be another pandemic on the workers who are already earning nothing as government is milking them through high taxes.

Even the current minimum wage is not matching the standard of cost of living which is high, he said. “It is imminent that food, fuel, and transport prices will go higher when tax and levy rates come effective in April.

Economic woes

With the government considers raising taxes and levies to cushion against effects of Covid-19 pandemic, this according to experts may throw a now bedridden economy into great depression.

The Minister of Finance and Economic Development Dr Thapelo Matsheka announced increase of taxes and levies amid the hard times presented by Covid-19 therefore igniting public outrage.

That being the case, economic experts warn Botswana is in midst of worst economic crisis ever.

Botswana’s economy was pushed deeper into a contraction earlier in the first quarter of 2020, with the full force of Covid-19 virus at the moment threatening to batter the now ailing economy.

Commenting on the budget speech, the Managing Partner at Grant Thornton Botswana Kalyanaraman Vijay, said the rate of unemployment caused by lack of skills or sluggish economy is a big worry.

Vijay says Botswana traditionally has very low taxes in the region noting that the decision now by government to increase taxes could be a way of rectifying economic crisis caused by Covid-19.

Jonathan Hore, Managing Tax Consultant- Aupracon Tax Specialists and economist said the government didn’t want to hike taxes as minister Matsheka had stated in 2020\2021 financial year budget speech.

“Instead he wanted to increase the tax collection efficiency by BURS but Covid-19 happened and it attacked the main sources of revenue being mineral receipts, SACU and local taxes such as VAT  due to the inevitable lockdowns, border closures and a tourism drought,” said Hore.

Due to the pressure, Hore said there was no option but do the unplanned which necessitated tax increases. He added that the magnitude of the tax collections may be negatively affected should COVID-19 continue to disrupt the economy. “But it is worth noting that whilst VAT increase will squeeze the ordinary citizens pockets, the government is balancing that by reducing personal income tax by increasing the exemption threshold from P3000 per annum to P4000.All tax payers will get to pay less tax and thus get compensated for the loss from VAT increases,’’ he added.

Alcohol ban

Hore says that while alcohol levy is on the major revenue source for government, the quantum is not easy to determine how much government could have lost from the alcohol levy due to ban.

But, it is given that the alcohol levy collections will do tumble due to the trade bans, he averred. He said that also constrains tax collection efforts but is a sacrifice worth taking that it save lives.

In 2008, government imposed 30% tax levy on all alcohol products to deal with the problematic drinking in the country and the levy was initially set to be at 70% but it was reduced to the 30%.

Government early in 4January 2021 imposed alcohol ban in effort to curb the spread of the virus and the ban has been extended to end of this month with fears that it would add more harm to economy. A three months alcohol ban was also imposed in April to June last year during the nationwide lockdown.

National beer brewing company, Kgalagadi Breweries Limited (KBL) has raised concerns that the ban is negatively impacting on its business with the latter shown intention to cease operations.

 Efforts to reach Head Corporate Affairs at KBL Masegonyana Madisa were futile at press time.

Related

Tags: EconomicEconomy

Get real time update about this post categories directly on your device, subscribe now.

Unsubscribe
Previous Post

Was DIS pistol used in murder?

Next Post

New dawn beckons for BPC

Related Posts

Tshekedi in BPF race
News

Tshekedi in BPF race

July 2, 2025
Motsepe, Butterfly’s last laugh
News

Motsepe, Butterfly’s last laugh

June 30, 2025
ILLEGAL WILDLIFE TRADE RISING
News

ILLEGAL WILDLIFE TRADE RISING

June 25, 2025
UDC impress BagaMmangwato
News

UDC impress BagaMmangwato

June 24, 2025
DIKGOSI ON GBV CRISIS ‘Our communities are perishing’
News

DIKGOSI ON GBV CRISIS ‘Our communities are perishing’

June 23, 2025
News

BOKO’S WAR ROOM

June 23, 2025
Next Post
New dawn beckons for BPC

New dawn beckons for BPC

Please login to join discussion
  • BVI ships over 500 000 doses of FMD vaccines to SAJuly 2, 2025
    … as the country grapples with the worst outbreak in years STAFF WRITER RelatedPosts BVI ships over 500 000 doses of FMD vaccines to SA Tshekedi in BPF race BTCL enjoys strong growth editors@thepatriot.co.bw Botswana Vaccine Institute (BVI) has… Read more: BVI ships over 500 000 doses of FMD vaccines to SA
  • Tshekedi in BPF raceJuly 2, 2025
    Launches campaign ahead of BPF elective congress Tshekedi is heir to BPF throne, an Ian Khama’s creation – Analyst BAKANG TIRO editors@thepatriot.co.bw RelatedPosts BVI ships over 500 000 doses of FMD vaccines to SA Tshekedi in BPF race BTCL… Read more: Tshekedi in BPF race
  • CHOPPIES – FINANCE MANAGERJune 30, 2025
    RelatedPosts CHOPPIES – FINANCE MANAGER LIQUID INTELLIGENT TECHNOLOGIES BOTSWANA – SOLUTIONS ARCHITECT LIQUID INTELLIGENT TECHNOLOGIES BOTSWANA – HEAD OF SALES
  • BTCL enjoys strong growthJune 30, 2025
    Revenue jumps 4% to P1.49 billion Strong 2024 growth attributed to strategy Profit before Tax reaches P259 million, up 30%   BAKANG TIRO RelatedPosts BVI ships over 500 000 doses of FMD vaccines to SA Tshekedi in BPF race… Read more: BTCL enjoys strong growth
  • Motsepe, Butterfly’s last laughJune 30, 2025
    Court orders Botswana govt to apologise to Bridgette Motsepe Apology to cover Ian Khama, Isaac Kgosi, Welheminah Maswabi Botswana to settle huge legal bills, costs for publishing apologies As former President Mokgweetsi Masisi’s blunder haunts Botswana STAFF WRITERS editors@thepatriot.co.bw… Read more: Motsepe, Butterfly’s last laugh
The Patriot On Sunday

© 2024 Copyright The Patriot On Sunday - Inspired by Search Mart.

Navigate Site

  • About Us
  • Advertise
  • Disclaimer
  • Contact Us

Follow Us

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password? Sign Up

Create New Account!

Fill the forms bellow to register

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Login
  • Sign Up
  • Cart
  • Home
  • News
  • Business
  • Lifestyle
  • Sport
  • Analysis & Opinions
  • Vacancies & Tenders

© 2024 Copyright The Patriot On Sunday - Inspired by Search Mart.

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.
Are you sure want to unlock this post?
Unlock left : 0
Are you sure want to cancel subscription?