GABORONE, Oct. 16 (Xinhua) -- Botswana recorded a loss in the number of newly registered motor vehicles in the second quarter due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the country's data authority reported on Friday.
Statistics Botswana said the figure went down by 48.9 percent compared with the previous quarter.
"While a total of 10,326 motor vehicles were registered for the first time in Q1 2020, only 5,281 were registered in Q2 2020," said the Statistician General Burton Mguni.
Mguni said that 65.5 percent of the newly registered motor vehicles were imported from Japan and 22.5 percent from South Africa, while attributing the drop to service disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
"Motor vehicle registration stations were closed due to COVID-19 lockdowns," said Mguni.
The statistics bureau also indicated that rail goods transport was not so deeply affected by the pandemic as trade in the sector was not restricted. Enditem
