Overall, the increase in administered prices (including fuel prices, public transport fares, as well as 9  electricity tariffs) added 1.86 percentage points to inflation in 2018. Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen, the overall modest increase in prices in Botswana was in the context of subdued domestic demand pressures, as a result of the restrained growth in personal incomes and largely stable foreign inflation.
Monetary policy was, therefore, conducted  against the  background of below-trend economic activity and a positive medium-term  outlook  for  inflation  and  moderate  fiscal  expansion. Government expenditure grew by 6.6 percent in 2018 compared to a contraction of 6.3 percent in the prior year.