By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Weekendpost
Botswana posted a budget surplus of 2.5 billion pula in the first quarter of the 2026-2027 financial year, after eleven consecutive quarters of deficit. The fall in public spending, down 3.75 billion pula from the previous quarter, explains the return to the black, according to WeekendPost’s analysis based on figures from the Bank of Botswana.
Botswana’s exports fell from 46 billion to 35.9 billion pula in the first seven months of 2026, while the trade deficit widened to 17.6 billion. Lower diamond sales accounted for most of the decline, according to Statistics Botswana data reported by Weekendpost.
🇧🇼 Botswana · Source: Weekendpost ·
Botswana commercial bank BBS Bank recorded a loss of 71.5 million pula in the first half of 2026, compared with 17 million during the same period in 2025. Its management attributed the result in particular to investments intended to strengthen its operations and digital transformation, according to Weekendpost.
🇧🇼 Botswana · Source: Weekendpost ·
The Botswana Housing Corporation posted a net profit of 49.6 million pula for the year ended 31 March 2026, against a loss of 104.6 million a year earlier. The recovery was driven in part by 95.6 million pula from property sales, while revenue fell by 42%, Weekendpost reports.
🇧🇼 Botswana · Source: Weekendpost ·
Namibian firm Simonis Storm forecasts a public deficit of 5.6% to 5.9% of GDP for the current financial year, against the government’s forecast of 5.5%. It also expects the 2028-2029 deficit to reach 4.4% of GDP, while Namibian growth in 2026 has been lowered to 2.3%, according to its budget analysis published after its 22 October mid-year review.
🇳🇦 Namibia · Source: Observer24 ·
Trafficking conviction helps Botswana retain US rankingA human trafficking conviction, the first in Botswana in four years, allowed the country to retain Tier 2 in the US 2026 assessment. The sentence was 15 years in prison, according to the Weekend Post, which says South Africa remains under monitoring.
PPC sells 418 hectares in Harare for $27 millionPPC has sold Arlington Estate, a 418-hectare property, in Harare for $27 million. The transaction generated $21.4 million net, paid as a dividend by its Zimbabwean subsidiary, in which PPC holds an 88% stake, according to Business Day.The week in Africa
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