Botswana and the World Bank

Botswana first joined the World Bank on July 24, 1968, only 2 years after the country gained independence.^[4] Its first major project with the World Bank was a Roads and Water project, designed to develop the transportation system in the city of Bechuanaland.^[5] Since then, Botswana has looked to the World Bank to fund other projects that encompass the World Bank's goal for the country: to consolidate Botswana's progress while looking at a range of emerging issues and noting problem areas. Botswana is a strong US ally and has consistently worked with the World Bank to develop projects. Botswana's recent major projects include the Integrated Transport Project, estimated to cost $186 million, and the Emergency Water Security and Efficiency Project, estimated to cost $145.5 million.^[3] Both were introduced in March 2017 and are currently being worked on (as of 2020). Additional projects have focused on electricity transmission, economic diversification and strengthened public sector performance .^[3]

Botswana also has 2 projects in place with the International Finance Cooperation (IFC), a member of the World Bank group which helps to leverage private sector funding. One project, the IFC Kgalagadi Bond, will help to transform the Botswana Building Society (BBS) into a full-service, commercial bank which can finance underserved market segments, including small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Another project provides Public-Private Partnership (PPP) advisory support for the water sector; specifically for the Glen Valley Wastewater Treatment Plant.

Besides its funding mechanisms in Botswana, the World Bank provides analytical and advisory support.

Botswana currently has in place a Country Partnership Framework (CPF) for FY16-FY21. This framework provides a plan for the World Bank to work with Botswana to make a "country driven model more systematic, evidence-based, selective and focused on the bank's goals of ending extreme poverty and increasing shared prosperity."^[6] The focus of this framework is on promoting private sector jobs, strengthening assets and supporting effective resource management.^[3]

During the 2000s, Botswana was experiencing one of the most severe HIV/AIDS epidemics in the world. The government of Botswana declared a state of emergency and sought help from the World Bank. World Bank assistance helped Botswana to transition to a more strategic and sustainable approach.^[7] The main focus of this project was to strengthen the National AIDS agency's institutional management and coordination capacity and to finance strategic and innovative HIV/AIDS related prevention. The project ended in 2015 with a total cost of $50 million.

Botswana wanted a way to mitigate human and wildlife interventions in several rural communities, especially in Northern Botswana. Through this project, the government of Botswana was able to provide job opportunities in wildlife-based tourism to benefit the conservation of wildlife. This project was introduced in 2009 and ended in 2016. The cost of the project was $20.47 million.^[8]