The main driver of growth in Botswana has been diamond revenues, which account for more than -- of GDP. Due to falling diamond prices, we predict growth to strengthen after ---- as demand sees an improvement and prices recover, leav- ing our forecast of GDP growth averaging -.- over the next -- years from ---- to ----. ...The main driver of growth in Botswana has been diamond revenues, which account for more than -- of GDP. Due to falling diamond prices, we predict growth to strengthen after ---- as demand sees an improvement and prices recover, leav- ing our forecast of GDP growth averaging -.- over the next -- years from ---- to ----. Private Consumption: Lower diamond revenues will hurt government income and threaten public sector wage growth � a major concern in Botswana given that more than -- of the workforce is employed by the government. ...As a result, we expect the project will experience major delays. Nevertheless, we expect some power generation projects will be underway in ----, which will support investment growth.
...Subdued demand and prices for diamonds � Botswana s key com- modity export � will continue to weigh on economic growth in ----. The drop-off in taxable diamond revenues will also curtail government spending, resulting in lower private consumption as -- of the work- force is employed in the public sector. ...We expect rough diamond prices will continue to fall during ----. Diamond exports account for -- of Botswana s total exports and the finance ministry attributed the weak outlook for the sector as the primary reason for its slashed economic growth expectation to -.- for ----. We expect real growth to reach -.- in ---- and -.- in ----, which have been revised down from -.- and -.- respectively. ...Min- ing giant De Beers cut production targets three times in ---- and revised its full-year production target from an initial --mn carats to --mn carats, dropping by --.- . The Debswana mines Jwaneng and Orapa, which are operated in conjunction with the government, were hit hardest by the production cuts.
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