Africa-Press – Botswana. President Dr Mokgweetsi Masisi has hailed the re-development of Bank of Botswana (BoB) headquarters building, saying its symbolic and iconic features are linked to the national development aspirations as espoused in National Vision 2036 and set out in the Reset Agenda.
The President was speaking at the official opening of the BoB PulaThebe building in Gaborone yesterday. He noted that the central bank’s location within the government enclave clearly projected it as an important complementary institution in national governance and policy-making.
“Its work is deliberately in alignment with the Reset Agenda, and the ‘A Re Chencheng’ initiative in the quest of Botswana ultimately transitioning from an upper-middle income to a high income status. Indeed, an important dimension of this economic transformation is technological adaptation and digitalisation,” he said.
On this note, President Masisi said the building was in alignment with transition to a knowledge-based economy and what transpires with respect to SmartBots, adding that it was pleasing that the bank also had a digital BoB 2024 initiative.The initiative, he said, translated into transformation of working arrangements, platforms and approaches to interaction with the public and delivery of the bank’s mandate.Further, President Masisi said the bank was in the process of deploying resources to enable preparedness for any transition to the issuance of digital fiat money and central bank digital currency as and when necessary.
“The continuing relevance and impact of Bank of Botswana requires addressing modernisation of related legislation as well as governance and institutional arrangements, thus the necessary reforms have been undertaken very meticulously,” he said.
He said at the apex of the reforms was the recent promulgation of the Bank of Botswana (Amendment) Act, 2022 through whose mandate of domestic price and financial stability aimed to establish a statutory Monetary Policy Committee with four out of nine members being external independent experts.
Dr Masisi further said the Act aimed to establish a statutory Financial Stability Council for the effective coordination and collaboration of all financial sector regulators in addressing any potential systemic financial sector instability as well as set up a Deposit Insurance Scheme to compensate.
“Viewed holistically, the re-enactment of the Act was aimed at aligning the central bank with evolving global, regional and domestic financial regulatory developments,” he said.
Such reforms, he said were to strengthen the financial sector’s capacity to mobilise and deploy resources sustainably and ensure continuing compliance with international norms and standards for a sound, stable and healthy financial sector in a vibrant and rapidly transforming economy.
BoB Governor Mr Moses Pelaelo said the PulaThebe project was quoted to the value of P850 million with a lifespan of over 50 years and was completed within schedule with no cost overrun.
Mr Pelaelo said the project created over 5 000 jobs during its construction with youth as the majority of those employed.
Part of the building, he said, consisted of very impressive aesthetic elements, which were envisioned and designed by local curators and artists. Mr Pelaelo noted that over 160 local artists were supported by Bank of Botswana Art Programme since its inception while an art and crafts collection of over 300 pieces was procured from local artists.
He thus commended BoB for its contribution to the re-invigoration of the creative industry and assisting the country in fulfilling the post-pandemic cultural renaissance.
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