Botswana’s 2026/2027 national budget, to be presented to Parliament on 9th February, will launch the country’s economic transformation under the Botswana Economic Transformation Programme (BETP) and National Development Plan 12 (NDP 12).
Vice President and Finance Minister Ndaba Gaolathe revealed this during the Budget Pitso for general stakeholders’ consultation in Gaborone on Monday.
Gaolathe highlighted that the BETP is crucial for reshaping the country’s economy into a more resilient model, ensuring that strategic priorities and practical initiatives lead to increased investment and job creation.
“BETP recognises that Botswana’s constraint is not the absence of ideas. It is execution, productivity and a growth structure that must now broaden beyond what the public purse and diamonds can sustainably support. BETP exists to ensure economic diversification is implemented in practice, sector by sector, project by project,” he stated.
The vice president added that the economic model that had supported the country since independence, relying heavily on diamond revenues and government spending, was no longer sustainable, making economic transformation essential.
“In plain terms, we are operating in a new reality. We must stabilise the economy and protect the vulnerable, while simultaneously repositioning the economy for diversification and jobs without assuming that public spending alone can carry that transition,” he said.
He also urged the private sector to move away from dependence on government contracts and instead embrace entrepreneurship and innovation to create sustainable business solutions, Botswana Daily News reports.
“If we are serious about diversification, then we must be serious about a culture shift. Botswana cannot build a resilient high-income economy if too much private initiative is based around government contracts. No nation has diversified by treating public procurement as the main investment model,” he said.
The finance minister added that Botswana must develop an economy where entrepreneurs set up factories serving households, businesses compete efficiently, value chains are strengthened, and domestic production and exports replace imports to generate foreign exchange.
Moreover, he also encouraged private financial institutions to support the cultural shift by providing “financing that rewards productivity and funding models that back real value creation rather than short-term cycles.”
He assured that the government would maintain transparency about the current state of the economy while pursuing long-term solutions.
He noted that this also involved cultivating a new culture in which projects are completed on time and within budget, and opportunities are generated through production and enterprise.
Meanwhile, Dr Sayed Timuno, Secretary of Macroeconomic and Financial Policy at the Ministry of Finance, said that the 2026/2027 budget would act as a launchpad for NDP 12.
Dr Timuno highlighted that, according to World Bank and IMF projections, global growth is expected to remain subdued through 2026, continuing to negatively impact Botswana’s domestic economy.
He added that while the mining sector remains the main growth driver, diamond prospects for 2026 are uncertain as lab-grown diamonds put pressure on the natural diamond market.
In addition, Naledi Madala, Senior Policy Advisor at the Ministry of Finance, stated that the BETP will prioritise bringing to fruition projects that have undergone rigorous planning in key sectors such as agriculture, manufacturing, energy, and tourism.