Botswana has secured a $1.5 billion loan from the African Development Bank, the largest-ever budget support given by the bank, following a slump in diamond exports, Bloomberg reported.



The funds will help to finance a fiscal deficit that is forecast to reach 13.5% of gross domestic product in the year through March 2010, the Tunis-based lender said in an e- mailed statement today.



Botswana sought credit from the African Development Bank for the first time in 17 years because of slumping export earnings as a recession deepened in the US, the world’s biggest diamond consumer.



Debswana Diamond Co., which is half-owned by Botswana’s government, shut its diamond mines for about two months this year. The mines account for a third of GDP and diamonds make up about half of government revenue, the report said.



“The case of Botswana illustrates the impact that the financial crisis is having on even the best-managed economies in Africa,” Donald Kaberuka, president of the African Development Bank, said in the statement.



“The crisis which is affecting African countries through different channels is increasing demand for support from international financial institutions.”



The southern African nation is also in talks with the International Monetary Fund on funding for its deficit, the Gaborone-based Daily News reported on May 6, citing Finance Minister Baledzi Gaolathe.



Botswana is able to increase debt after posting budget surpluses for five consecutive years through March 2008, according to data from the IMF.



Government debt is still low at 3.3% of GDP in 2008, said Ridle Markus, Africa strategist for Johannesburg-based Absa Group Ltd.