08 Oct 2015

Several investment opportunities exist in sectors such as agriculture, mining, water and energy, a visiting business delegation from Turkey has been told.

Briefing the delegation that was looking for investment and joint venture opportunities, the permanent secretary in the Ministry of Minerals, Energy and Water Resources, Mr Kgomotso Abi said there were opportunities in the energy sector as Botswana was facing a power deficit.

Mr Abi said the government was undertaking several projects to mitigate against power shortage, adding however that there were opportunities for the private sector in renewable energy.

He noted that local laws were changed in 2007 to enable independent power producers (IPPs) to generate energy.

The permanent secretary said there were several IPPs in the country including one that was to develop a 300MW coal fired power station and a solar energy power plant.

On mining, he said Botswana has been reliant on diamonds, but that the government was looking into other resources such as base metals.

He further said the country was looking into mineral beneficiation.

For her part, the permanent secretary in the Ministry of Trade and Industry, Ms Peggy Serame said the government has created an enabling environment to ease doing business in the country.

She called upon the visitors to look beyond Botswana, adding that the country was strategically placed and was a member of regional and international organisations such as the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and World Trade Organisation (WTO).

Ms Serame said the membership would enable the investors not only to look into the two million local population, but the entire regional and global population.

She said the government has launched a three-year strategy to change the business landscape.

Turkey’s Ambassador to Botswana, Mr Ibrahim Yagli praised Botswana for its democracy, rule of law and prudent macro-economic management policies, adding that  it was an ideal destination for foreign investments.

 He said it was because of this that the world media has ignored Botswana since the country has enjoyed peace since independence and has held regular elections.

Talking about his country, he said Turkey was a member of the G20, a group of wealthy nations and one of the leading economies in the European Union.

Mr Yagli said although trade between his country and Africa has increased, there was relatively nothing between Botswana and Turkey.

He said Turkey leads Europe in manufacturing household appliances.

The 15 businessmen represented various sectors such as education, manufacturing and construction. Ends