04 Jun 2013

Permanent Secretary to the President (PSP), Mr Eric Molale has encouraged Batswana to change their mentality from being impulsive buyers but rather focus more on manufacturing and entrepreneurship.

Addressing the Rural Development Council Pitso in Kang recently, Mr Molale said Batswana have over the years become heavily dependent on procuring and importing goods instead of coming up with ideas that would assist in establishing manufacturing industries.

He said developing a producing mindset would not only secure a sustainable food supply in the country, but would also have a positive impact on job creation and the country’s economic growth. Mr Molale stressed the need to build the entrepreneurship capacity of SMME’s particularly in rural areas as they are fundamental in employment generation and economic diversification.

He called for the revival of co-operative societies in rural areas as they have the potential to influence production acting as growth points for agro-business, which enhances economic activities within the agricultural sector and adds value to primary goods produced by the farming community.

PSP also encouraged rural communities to make use of their natural resources together with their naturally inherited talents to come up with business avenues that could sustain their livelihoods instead of being fully dependent on government schemes.

“There is an abundance of natural resources like Mokala fruits and other wild berries that can be processed and turned in to lucrative business opportunities in rural areas.”

He called on civil society to assist in mentoring and nurturing aspiring entrepreneurs in rural areas to ensure the sustainability of their business project ast some rural businesses collapsed due to lack of good administration and poor unaccountability of funds which could be avoided had they been proper mentoring and management.

ENDS