27 Apr 2017

Assistant Minister for Presidential Affairs, Governance and Public Administration, Mr Thato Kwerepe has urged the Ngamiland community to enter into fish farming.
Mr Kwerepe, who was speaking at a workshop organised by the Lake Ngami Conservation Trust in Maun on Tuesday, said although there were fish in Ngamiland, they might be affected by the drying of rivers.
He added that it was therefore important for the community and country to engage in fish farming.
Mr Kwerepe said it was disturbing that the country spent a lot of money importing fish from other countries while some of it could be produced in Botswana. “It is important for us to produce fish within our borders for the local market and even can it,” he said.

The minister also told participants about the government economic diversification drive (EED), urging them to take advantage of the programme to produce goods locally.
Furthermore, Mr Kwerepe called on all stakeholders to work harmoniously to ensure sustainable fishing at Lake Ngami.
This, he said, would contribute to poverty eradication in the area. “We all have a part to play, fishermen should ensure sustainable fishing while at the same time conserving the environment,” said Mr Kwerepe, adding that people and animals around the lake depended on it for survival.
“We do not want a situation where cattle are condemned at Botswana Meat Commission because they consumed dirt at the lake,” warned Mr Kwerepe.
He said people living around Lake Ngami could only maximise their socio-economic benefits if economic activities around the lake were undertaken with their involvement in the management of the natural resources.
Mr Kwerepe noted that the government had identified aquaculture as a means to diversify food production under the National Development Plan 11 (NDP11).
“It is in this context that P4.1 million has been given to the Lake Ngami Trust to assist it in promoting sustainable fish farming activities while another P15 million had been set aside to set up additional aquaculture projects in Kareng, Toteng, Shakawe, Thito, Samochima and Mmadinare hatchery.”

The minister said their strategy was to promote fish farming, not only in Ngamiland, but throughout Botswana, in order to diversify the economy and improve the livelihood of communities through better diet.
“This should also go a long way in reducing the dependency of our country on imported fish,” said Mr Kwerepe, who is also the MP for  ****.
Mr Kwerepe said the government, spearheaded by the poverty eradication programme within the Office of the President, saw inland fisheries resources, including aquaculture, as an engine to not only enhance food security, but also create employment  opportunities that could improve the livelihood of all Batswana.

The newly appointed deputy coordinator of Poverty Eradication in the Office of the President, Mr Ghulam Kibria said his office intended to initiate fish farming country wide.
He, however, said he had been experiencing procurement challenges and noted that the task had now been decentralised to the district commissioners, adding that the process would be faster.
He said they were currently renovating the Mmadinare hatchery, and that once the process was over production would commence around July.
Mr Kibria said it was important for the country to have sufficient fish for local consumption and ultimately export. ENDS