The arrears rose from P748.4 in 2020 to P769.1m in 2021
GAZETTE REPORTER
As at the end of December 2021, total arrears by households to Botswana Housing Corporation (BHC) and Water Utilities Corporation (WUC) amounted to P769.1 million, The Botswana Gazette has established.
This is according to the Bank of Botswana (BoB) report titled Household Indebtedness Survey Report of 2021/22.
The survey is used to measure the level of household indebtedness in Botswana, using data collected from commercial banks, statutory banks, micro-lenders and hire purchase stores, as well as data on arrears in rent and water bills from Botswana Housing Corporation (BHC) and Water Utilities Corporation (WUC).
Decline
“This P769.1 million figure is a 2.8 percent increase from arrears of P748.4 million in the preceding period,” the report reads. “The percentage of households with arrears was relatively high in 2021, at 75.1 percent, a decline from 79.3 percent in the previous year. During the period under review, a large amount of rental arrears accrued for medium cost houses, followed by low and high cost houses, respectively.”
Negative economic forces
Meanwhile, WUC’s recent annual report for the year that ended 31 March 2021 shows that the corporation reported a loss before tax of P207.98 million (2021: P253.71 million) ,which is an 18 percent favourable movement compared to the previous financial year.
The CEO of WUC, Gaselemogwe Senai, said the overall result (loss) can be summarised as an outcome of negative micro and macro-economic forces resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic and increased inflation.