Abstract:
The primary object of the study was to determine the effect
foreign aid in the form of grants, loans and direct
investment has had on the economy of Botswana since 1980,
and also to identify specific sectors within the economy
that received foreign aid in the form of grants, loans and
direct investment and how they compare with those sectors
which did not receive the same.
It has been the conclusion of this study that foreign aid in
the form of grants, loans and direct investment played a
very important role in the economic development of Botswana
since 1980. Initially the role played by British aid from
the early 1960s until 1972-73, with capital, recurrent and
technical assistance support, when little other assistance
was available, was vitally important since it enabled
Botswana to lay the foundations for future development.
Many of the features that attracted later donors are
directly traceable to this period. The financing of the copper-nickel complex at Selebi-Phikwe by a consortium of
donors under the co-ordination of the World Bank was also
crucial.
It must, however,
been diversified.
be pointed out that the economy has not
In 1990, half the GDP emanated from
mining; manufacturing's share has actually halved since
1966, while agriculture's languishes at only 3%. There is a
massive task of diversification ahead which must succeed if
an unemployment ctisis is to be avoided. Even if Botswana
can sustain the sound policies that served it so well in the
1980s, continued success is far from certain.
