AFRICA
BY GAYE DE VILLIERS
Botswana
Demand is high
F
ormerly the British Protectorate
of Bechuanaland, Botswana
a dopte d it s ne w n a me
upon independence in 1966. The
economy, one of the most robust
on the continent, is dominated by
diamond mining. The country has
an area of 600 000 sq km and is
bordered by Namibia, Zimbabwe
and South Africa. The country has
warm winters and hot summers;
the landscape is predominantly flat
with gently rolling tableland, with
the Kalahari Desert located in the
southwest of the country. Natural
resources include diamonds, copper,
nickel, salt, soda ash, potash, coal,
iron ore and silver.
BOTSWANA
• Population: 2.0 million
• Language: English / Tswana
• Currency: Pula
• Main Export: Diamonds
• Capital City: Gaborone
• Inflation: 7.5%
Botswana has maintained one of the world’s highest
economic growth rates since independence in 1966,
though growth fell below 5 percent in 2007-08, and
turned sharply negative in 2009, with industry down
by nearly 30 percent. Through fiscal discipline and
sound management, Botswana transformed itself
from one of the poorest countries in the world to a
middle-income country with a per capita GDP of
$13 100 in 2010. Two major investment services rank
Botswana as the best credit risk in Africa. Diamond
mining has fuelled much of the expansion and
44
Offshore Handbook 2013
currently accounts for more than onethird of GDP, 70-80 percent of export
earnings and half of the government’s
revenues. Botswana’s heavy reliance
on a single luxury export was a
critical factor in the sharp economic
contraction of 20 09. Tourism,
financial services, subsistence farming
and cattle raising are other key sectors.
Although unemployment was 7.5
percent in 2007 according to official
reports, unofficial estimates place it
closer to 40 percent. The population
of Botswana is estimated at a little
over two million. Debra Albers,
manager of Pam Golding Properties
office in Gaborone, Botswana says
residential property market trends are driven by
economic factors. Currently De Beers, 15 percent
owned by the Government of Botswana is moving
its subsidiary, Diamond Trading Company (DTC)
from London. “Approximately 60 families will be
relocating to Gaborone of which roughly 50% have
already arrived and the rest should relocate by October
this year (2013) and will need high-end executive
accommodation,” she says. “We are also experiencing
demand for top end properties from the Diamond
Sight Holding companies.”
RESOURCES
Pam Golding
www.reimag.co.za