Sunday Standard The Telegraph May 1 Digital copy of The Telegraph, May 1, 2024 The post The Telegraph May 1 first appeared on Sunday Standard and is written by Online editor ..read more

Sunday Standard Central Bank holds key rate steady  The Bank of Botswana (BoB)’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) left the central bank benchmark rate (Monetary Policy Rate, MoPR) unchanged at 2.4 percent citing favourable inflation trends.  According to data recently shared by Statistics Botswana, the country’s annual headline inflation dipped to 2.9 percent, down from 3.9 percent in February, marking a notable 1.0 percentage point decrease. The primary drivers behind this decline were Miscellaneous Goods & Services, contributing 0.8 percentage points, and Food & Non-Alcohol ..read more

Sunday Standard Future of De Beers uncertain amid takeover bid The future of De Beers is uncertain as major shareholder, Anglo American, considers selling its diamond-mining unit amid a failed takeover bid by BHP that was made public on Thursday. The Wall Street Journal, an authoritative business news publisher, has reported that Anglo American is considering selling De Beers, citing people who are familiar with the matter. There's more to this story But to keep reading, we need you to subscribe. Investigative journalism is an indispensable part of a healthy society, but it's also expensive t ..read more

Sunday Standard HATAB pushes for world class tourism as Botswana seeks to diversify economy  The Hospitality and Tourism Association of Botswana (HATAB) convened its annual conference in the tourism town of Maun this past week.  Attended by a diverse array of industry leaders, government officials, and President Mokgweetsi Masisi, the event served as a platform to address critical issues facing Botswana’s tourism sector amidst prevailing economic uncertainties. There's more to this story But to keep reading, we need you to subscribe. Investigative journalism is an indispensable part ..read more

Sunday Standard Singapore loses its sparkle to Gaborone  De Beers Group is relocating its Auction business headquarters from Singapore to Botswana. In a statement issued last week, De Beers said that the relocation supports the company’s focus on streamlining its operations and enhancing the efficiency of its activities.  This move follows the successful relocation of De Beers Global Sightholder Sales to Gaborone in 2013. While the transition process will entail a temporary pause in operations and sales events to ensure a seamless move and uninterrupted customer service, CEO Al Cook ..read more

Sunday Standard Liquor operators rally for extended operating hours Liquor operators in Botswana are mobilising efforts to lobby the government for extended operating hours, particularly on weekends, aiming to bolster patron safety and drive revenue growth. With concerns over early closure times impacting both businesses and public safety, liquor operators are rallying support from councilors to advocate for an extension of operating hours, particularly on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. There's more to this story But to keep reading, we need you to subscribe. Investigative journalism is an ..read more

Sunday Standard Farmers rally behind Thuo Letlotlo to supercharge livestock sector Botswana’s farming community is lauding the newly launched Thuo Letlotlo program, recognising its potential to enhance the country’s livestock sub-sector. President Mokgweetsi Masisi, upon introducing the program, highlighted its pivotal role, offering individuals a maximum of P500,000, with only half of the amount requiring repayment to the government, while the remaining portion serves as a grant. There's more to this story But to keep reading, we need you to subscribe. Investigative journalism is an indispen ..read more

Sunday Standard Business thrives when Gov’t gets out of the way The other day the national television, BTV, aired a panel discussion aimed at exploring ways to stimulate economic growth, and the much-needed jobs in Botswana through entrepreneurism. The panelists, by the way, who were drawn from government ranks, dissected the issue at length and seemed to draw a few fundamental conclusions. Firstly, they put down the shallow pool of successful entrepreneurs due to the lack of self-belief among local people. The second barrier that they alluded to was consumers who prefer foreign-made goods ov ..read more

Sunday Standard Of Dingake’s ‘cheap’ coffin and Mogae’s wishes about his own funeral At the turn of the century, the Botswana Society organised a two-day symposium on “lavish funerals.” The symposium was held at the Botswana National Productivity Centre and then President Festus Mogae was the keynote speaker. Interestingly, what was considered a lavish funeral at that time would today be considered embarrassingly low-budget by lavish-funeral enthusiasts. If nothing else, this is stark evidence that the symposium failed to achieve its main objective. At the time of the symposium, “la ..read more

Sunday Standard Sunday Standard April 28 – 4 May Digital copy of the Sunday Standard April 28 – 4 May, 2024 The post Sunday Standard April 28 – 4 May first appeared on Sunday Standard and is written by Online editor ..read more