15 Apr 2013

The Botswana National Beef Producers Union (BNBPU) has proposed reforms to be implemented within six months to save Botswana’s ailing beef industry. The union proposed the reforms at the recent Beef Sector Letsema workshop.

The workshop was organised to brief farmers on the findings of the task team on operations of the Botswana Meat Commission (BMC) and the proposed BMC amendment bill.

BNBPU chairperson, Mr Monty Chiepe said the reforms should include conducive policy for livestock sector development, the BMC reform and a review of stakeholder roles and changes to related legislations such as the BMC Act, Control of Livestock Industry Act, among others.

Farmers also wanted the livestock sector to ensure sustainability and competitiveness of the industry. “Many times when we are aggrieved with the problems in the sector we talk of BMC, but this should be a much more comprehensive exercise that looks at the livestock sector development as a whole,” said Mr Chiepe.

He said reforms should lead to eventual liberalisation of the industry which should include introduction of competition and how best to safeguard interests that would be adversely affected by the proposed reforms.

Mr Chiepe said the union wanted a forensic audit of the BMC, adding farmers were willing to individually donate a beast towards its funding. In the meantime, he said, government should, as a stop gap measure, introduce special interventions to keep the beef industry going.

Such, he said, included payment of export parity forthwith and allowing areas affected by FMD to sell live cattle as a matter of urgency as the current legislative framework allowed for it. He also argued that farmers wanted areas affected by drought to be immediately targeted for appropriate drought relief programmes with immediate effect and that BMC should be willing to take cattle that producers were willing to sell.

“The amendment of the BMC Act must be attended to after the above mentioned reforms have been affected,” he said. Meanwhile, Ministry of Agriculture permanent secretary, Dr Micus Chimbombi informed the farmers about the findings of the task team on the operations of the BMC, which was established following challenges including increasing consecutive losses to the point of near collapse of the commission.

Dr Chimbombi said the task force  recommended, among other things, delegation of some powers by the board in the interest of the organisation to management, citing authority to set price as an example. He added that the report had also recommended that Directorate on Corruption and Economic Crime should investigate possible fraud and corruption in relation to the use of BMC feed for feedlotters own cattle and the award of feedlots contracts, among others. ENDS