Depending on its composition and how it is financed, large public expenditure programmes also have the potential to crowd out private investment.2 The unprecedented scale of the pandemic-induced shock provides little room for doubt that the significant increase in government debt was justifiable, on economic grounds alone.
As His Honour the Vice President indicated, in his official opening remarks yesterday, financial inclusion has been identified as one of the key strategic priorities for financial sector development in Botswana. In this regard, a number of related initiatives form part of key policy documents such as National Development Plans, and the Financial Sector Development Strategy (2012 - 2016).