Africa-Press – Botswana. The Perm Sec of the Ministry of Finance has disclosed a raft of austerity measures across government in order to save for the next public service pay day that is coming when the Government Investment Account has fallen to its lowest level ever.
The government may face difficulty paying public service salaries next week due to a drastic decline in its investment account, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Finance (MoF), Dr Alex Kganetsano, has revealed.
Appearing before the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) this week, Dr Kganetsano said the Government Investment Account (GIA) has plummeted to just P700 million, far below the monthly public sector wage bill of P1.5 billion.
“This figure falls short of what is needed to cover civil service salaries, which are due next week,” he stated. “The situation is very tight, and unless fiscal interventions are made, we may not be able to meet all our salary obligations on time.”
“We will play the chessboard carefully”
Nevertheless, Dr Kganetsano sought to reassure public servants by saying MOF is working urgently to ensure salaries are paid on time. “We will play the chessboard carefully to ensure civil servants are not affected,” he said.
Dr Kganetsano spoke of cost-containment measures that MoF has introduced. These include suspending most international travel, limiting official trips strictly to essential ones, and subjecting all benchmarking trips and study tours to prior clearance by the Office of the President.
He also announced a reduction in the size of government delegations to conferences and a freeze on hiring and promotions in non-essential sectors.
Previous administration
The alarming drop in the GIA began under the previous administration. Then finance minister Peggy Serame revealed that the account had fallen from P19.1 billion in July 2023 to P5.1 billion by April 2024, blaming the steep decline on reduced revenues and escalating government spending, particularly on subsidies and stimulus initiatives.
Since then, the GIA has continued its downward trajectory, reaching a critical low of P700 million this month. With payday approaching and the wage bill standing at more than double the available funds, the government finds itself in a precarious financial position.
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