About Us

The Ministry of Finance, formerly known as Ministry of Finance and Development Planning, and also the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development was established in 1970 by merging the then Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Development Planning. In 1983 the Ministry was reorganized in to three functional divisions namely;

·         Public Finance Management,

·         Financial Affairs (under which was the Office of the Accountant General),

·         Economic Affairs.

In 1996 the Ministry was again reviewed and reorganized to accommodate changing economic and financial policies adopted by the government. The Public Finance Management was restructured and renamed Budget Administration.

The Ministry was once again re-organized in 2005 and was divided into;

·         Economic and Financial Policy headed by a Secretary at Permanent Secretary Level,

·         Development and Budget headed by a Secretary at Permanent Secretary Level,

·       Office of the Accountant General Headed by Accountant General which is Permanent Secretary Level. (Under the Office of Accountant General is the Government Procurement Office which was initially called the Department of Supply and is headed by Assistant Accountant General Procurement).

·         Corporate Services headed by the Deputy Permanent Secretary

·         Internal Audit headed by the Director.

In 2009 the Financial Intelligence Agency was constituted through an Act of Parliament whose responsibility is to combat financial crimes in particular Money Laundering and the Financing of Terrorism. It is an autonomous body under Ministry of Finance and Development Planning by Director at Permanent Secretary Level.

The following department and sections were made into parastatals as a result of the above mentioned 2005 re-organization:

·         In 2006, the departments of Taxes and Customs and Excise were merged to establish Botswana Unified Revenue Service.

·         In 2008, the Office of the Registrar of Insurance tuned into Non-Bank Financial Institutions Regulatory Authority.

·         The Central Statistics Office is now an autonomous body called the Statistics Botswana.

·         The management and administration of Government Residential and Motor Vehicle Advance Scheme (GEMVAS) was out-sourced to UNIGEM which is a company owned by some public sector unions to enhance efficiency and promote citizen empowerment. UNIGEM started administering and managing the scheme in May 2010.

The following Ministers have been at the helm of the Ministry since independence:

Hon. Benjamin C. Thema

1965 – 1966 Minister of Finance

Hon. Sir Quett Ketumile Jonny Masire

1967 Minister of Finance

1968 – 1970 Minister of Development Planning

1971-1980 Minister of Finance and Development Planning

Hon. James G. Haskins

1968 – 1970 Minister of Finance

Hon. Peter S. Mmusi

1980 – 1989 Minister of Finance and Development Planning

Hon. Festus G. Mogae

1989 – 1998 Minister of Finance and Development Planning

Hon. Ponatshego H.K. Kedikilwe

1998 – 1999 Minister of Finance and Development Planning

Hon. Baledzi Gaolathe

1999 – 2009 Minister of Finance and Development Planning

Hon. Ontefetse K. Matambo

2009 – 2019 Minister of Finance and Development Planning

Hon. Dr. Thapelo Matsheka

2019 - 2021 Minister of Finance and Economic Development

Hon Peggy O. Serame

2021 - Present Minister of Finance

Permanent Secretaries:

Mr. Quill Hermans

1970 – 1975

Mr. Festus G. Mogae

1975 – 1976

Mr. Baledzi Gaolathe

1977 – 1992

Mr. J Stoneharm

1992 – 1995

Mr. O. K. Matambo

1995 – 1998

Mr. Serwalo G. Tumelo

1999 – 2008

Mr. Solomon Sekwakwa

2008 - 2019

Dr. Wilfred Mandlebe

2019 - 2022

Mr. Olesitse Masimega

2022 - present