AB flights to infuse tswana culture

Guest speaker President Ian Khama summed it like this: "It is not just  just about Tourism ... it is more about the country and its diverse economic landscape; its culture and heritage; governance structures; exports and more importantly its people...it is about the citizens of that country, incorporating the civil society, the private sector, rural and urban based institutes in varying sections... it  is not just about the logo and tag-line: it is about who we are and what we stand for... A brand is a promise and we should all live up to the promise and fulfil it".

Botswana's consumer inflation slowed to 6.6% year-on-year in August

Reuters reports that Botswana's consumer inflation slowed to 6.6 percent year-on-year in August, its lowest in more than two years, compared with 7.3 percent in July, the Central Statistics Office said.

Stanchart profits dip on higher expenses

"The increase in operating expenses is attributed to our accelerated investment as the bank spends on service delivery training and customer channels. During the period, the bank opened a new branch at Airport Junction Mall. We also opened a 24-hour full service call centre - the only one in the market," said the bank in a statement that accompanied the results.

Driven by a healthy 11 percent rise in interest income as the loan book grew by 8 percent to P4.5 billion, Standard Chartered's operating income rose from P419 million to P433 million.  Loans and advances to other banks rose significantly from P129 million to P920 million.

In an attempt to manage liquidity, in a market that has to deal with an extra P5 billion due to the central bank's open market operations interventions, Standard Chartered Bank say they have taken a strategic decision to cut down on deposits.

The Bank of Botswana late last year moved to constrain Bank of Botswana Certificates (BoBCS) to P10 billion from as high as P15 billion in 2010,stressing their cost and the need for banks to innovate "alternative bankable projects."

"Deposits from non-bank customers reduced by 19 percent to P7.3 billion, as a result a strategic action to manage excess liquidity and reduced margins. On the other hand corporate and institutional deposits in the first half of the year recorded a 31 percent decrease. The intervention of the central bank late last year resulted in excess liquidity and up to a 200 basis points reduction in rates," read the statement.

AFR tests coal export route with 1,000 tons

The export arrangement with Botswana Railways also illuminated the way for other players in the local 212 billion tonne coal sector to the lucrative Indian and Chinese markets. In a webcast last week, AFR managing director, Frazier Tabeart said the company was evaluating a 1, 000 ton trial shipment in order to "study the optimisation of current rail and port capacity". "We believe that currently, there's a real opportunity for Botswana to become an exporter of coal in the short term," he said.

"We did a successful trial shipment of coal to Maputo and we are looking at how that route can be improved from an operating efficiency point of view." AFR and other advanced coal sector players view Mozambique as the gateway to lucrative Chinese and Indian exports, the two economies being the world's most voracious consumers of the energy mineral.

By ramping up its trial shipment from 25 to 1,000 tonnes, AFR hopes to gradually test the logistics and infrastructure in place for expanding its exports through Mozambique, ahead of the commencement of commercial mining operations at Sese.

Besides the coal export project, Tabeart said tenders for advanced studies on a 1.5 million ton per annum (Mtpa) coal mine had been awarded, with final delivery of the Bankable Feasibility Study due by the end of March next year. The 1.5 Mtpa coal mine is part of the Sese Integrated Power Project, and will fire the initial 300-megawatt power station, for which AFR recently signed a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding with a regional power offtaker.

Bank of Botswana : Inflation falls to 6.6 percent in August

In August, headline inflation, as measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI), fell to 6.6 percent from 7.3 percent in July. Inflation decreased in several commodity groups, including: food (from 8.0 percent to 7.8 percent); housing water, electricity, gas and other fuels (from 7.4 percent to 6.8 percent); furnishing, household equipment and routine maintenance (from 7.4 percent to 7.1 percent); transport (from 11.1 percent to 7.6 percent, where a fuel price increase in August 2011 fell out of the calculation); and miscellaneous goods and services (from 1.5 percent to 1.1 percent). However, this was partially offset by higher inflation for: clothing and footwear (from 6.1 percent to 6.6 percent); recreation and culture (from 5.1 percent to 5.7 percent); and restaurants and hotels (from 6.5 percent to 6.8 percent). Inflation remained unchanged for alcoholic beverages and tobacco (7.1 percent), health (6.4 percent), communication (0.6 percent) and education (6.4 percent).

NOCAL Warned Oil Expert Wants Botswana’s Steps Followed

The director of the International Growth Center (IGC), Paul Collier has admonished the Government of Liberia through the National Oil Company (NOCAL) to follow the positive examples of the Southern African state of Botswana in order to succeed from oil deposits.

Mr. Collier, who is currently in the country at the invitation of NOCAL, told a cross-section of entrepreneurs and business executives yesterday that it is important to institute necessary policies that Botswana used in driving her economy to a better standard other than following others that currently face crisis in handling their natural resources.

He stated that in order for Liberia to be successful in the equitable distribution of its oil wealth to all its citizens, NOCAL needs to prioritize the building of private sector capacity, instituting better rules governing the oil sector and continued engagement with local business by developing them.

“Oil is a signal for attracting investment to the country and if you manage its deposits well, you will attract investments from all around the world.”

“You have to put in place the best policies that will govern the sector and implement those policies,” said Mr. Collier.

Implications of exporting to SA

According to the South African Chamber of Mines, "Assuming growth rates of between three and five per cent, the coal used by 2030 - when estimates suggest electricity demand is likely to peak at 75 000 megawatts - together with coal dedicated to future use by power stations either operating or under construction in 40 years' time, amounts to a staggering 30 billion tons, about half of the country's reserves". Even with the growth of the new coal fields in the Waterberg, one can well understand why South Africa would want a supply agreement with Botswana. For many years, President Khama and his predecessor President Festus Mogae, had tried to convince the South African government to allow Botswana to export electricity. CIC Energy, the owner of Mmambula coal deposit until it was sold to Jindahl Steel last week, had long had a business model where it would generate electricity to a power hungry South Africa. Initially, the plan was for a 3,000MW power station which was not going to be acceptable to Eskom.

Shortage of milk looms in Botswana

"The government has found a market for Zone Seven cattle in South Africa. The cattle will be slaughtered at the Francistown Botswana Meat Commission (BMC) abattoir. Before proceeding to the abattoir, the cattle will be quarantined at Sefophe Artificial Insemination (AI) camp," said Molebatsi. The Assistant Minister said the restocking exercise in Zone Seven is still suspended due to drought and it is expected to commence when the conditions improve later in the year. Furthermore, Molebatsi advised farmers to plough more sorghum and beans in the coming ploughing season. He noted that maize is not a good choice because it is not heat resistant.  The Assistant Minister also informed residents that government has increased the price of beans to P700 per 50 kilograms.  He said that it is high time Botswana became independent in food supply. Molebatsi encouraged residents to utilize the government programme of cluster fencing like other villages in Kgatleng. He explained that farmers will be assisted with a fence and a borehole. He pointed out that Batswana must be aware that such programmes only run for a certain amount of time and they must take advantage of them while they still exist.

Botswana, Nigeria oil deal gathers pace

On Wednesday, executives from Spring Well Trade and Investment challenged Trade and Industry Minister, Dorcas Makgato-Malesu to fast-track the proposed P70 million dry port at Walvis Bay in Namibia, as well as lay the necessary policy framework. “We have done the due diligence and we have put together MoUs with oil majors from Nigeria which we have presented to our ministers, but are still struggling to get answers,” the firm’s CEO, Brian Rengasamy told a meeting of Botswana and Nigerian businesspeople. “We urge the minister to look at this because the trade is available but the logistics are not conducive. “We were quite restive with (Botswana ambassador to Nigeria, Clifford Maribe). The concession for the dry port has not been developed and the Trans Kalahari highway, which is the best, is not being fully utilised.”

Rengasamy and company chair, Jackson Nyamambi told Business Week that their due diligence indicated that seaborne oil products from Lagos to Walvis Bay could take nine days, compared to the 21 days and above to Durban, through which nearly all of Botswana’s fuel enters.

“As business, we can do all the business side and create a supply chain, but government must do its responsibility which is infrastructure development and corridors so that there’s a platform for business to trade and invest,” Rengasamy said.

Botswana beef is not marketed globally- Agric Hub

Fitt suggested that Botswana beef should be sold on a special market.

"The beef in Botswana has so many end-market opportunities to enable it to be sold more on the differentiated high-value niche markets.

It is so because the high-value niche markets have high prices which will enable growth in the beef industry of this country," he said.

He said the country must sell its beef on the world stage market, as this will enable it to have a wider range of buyers. "European Union (EU) markets remains a key target, but market diversification will be essential for both product and geographically based needs, which include product consistence such as type or size, year round volumes, quality and others," he said.

Fitt further said the domestic market already has the same size as export market thus this represents a key growth opportunity for communal farmers in particular on the domestic market, which is expected to double in the next 20 years.

"Botswana has a population of two million people, and approximately three million cattle, which gives the country a live cattle export opportunity," he said.

SA plays power games with coal

Zuma is reported to have said that "the bilateral agreement on energy would make meeting energy demands easier for both countries". The grades, types and, most importantly, prices of coal to be exported are not known, but the agreement will strengthen the commercial and energy ties between the countries and, depending on the coal grades to be sold, might solve one of the Botswana coal industry's most intractable problems – what to do with its middlings, the waste from the washing of coal that is necessary to get it up to export quality.