07 Mar 2016

The Member of Parliament for Gaborone Bonnington South, Mr Ndaba Gaolathe has urged the Ministry of Trade and Industry to implore a vigorous strategy at the micro level of the economy.

Debating the ministry’s budget proposals for 2016/17, Mr Gaolathe said there should be a target in terms of what was related to the economy such as employment.

He said it was important to go deeper in developing the country’s own economic model.

He said the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning, who are strategists at macro level, should be able to feed into the developed economic models.

The Bonnington South MP welcomed the idea of specialised economic zones, but warned that if not invested in properly, they may not yield the results.

He said the objectives of the economic zones should be what obtains to the rest of the country, and not limited to certain areas.

“Botswana itself must be an economic zone. Invest adequately in this objective and lets avoid having fragmented financing,” he said.

He urged the government to establish funds for financing and developing certain sectors such as power, water, technology and manufacturing amongst others.

Tati West MP, Mr Biggie Butale said the policy of Economic Diversification Drive (EDD) was good, but demanded serious thinking. 

He added that the policy had the potential to move Batswana forward.

He said licensing should have strict regulations that may deny investors an opportunity to settle in the country. 

He told Parliament that most African states roll out red carpets to investors as a way of luring them to invest in their economies.

Tati East MP, Mr Samson Guma-Moyo said it was important to use the national budget to empower citizens, especially young people.

He said for institutions such as CEDA and BDC, it should be mandatory to finance the youth.

He said lack of sufficient funds make it impossible for the youth to start or even run businesses as they compete with multinational companies who have impressive credit ratings.

The Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Mr Slumber Tsogwane said the ministry’s requests provided a good framework for legislation and policy.

He said it was largely due to an enabling environment provided by the government. 

He said there was need to speak more of a domestic economy and the industrial development policy. 

For his part, Assistant Minister for Presidential Affairs and Public Administration, Mr Dikgang Makgalemele thanked the ministry for being supportive to his Shoshong region.

He said the National Entrepreneurship Policy should liaise with the Ministry of Education and Skills Development to develop budding entrepreneurs at the grassroots level. 

He also said CEDA must consider establishing a fund for cooperatives. Ends