29 May 2017

The Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry acting deputy permanent secretary says the Metlhala ya Khumo outreach programme is intended to lure Batswana to set up businesses and grow industries.

Speaking during the Metlhala ya Khumo outreach programme in Bobonong on May 27, Ms Seipati Olweny said the idea was to encourage Batswana to start their own businesses following different models.

Ms Olweny said people could engage in businesses in a group such as establishing cooperatives, companies or as individuals.

She said the cooperative model was one of the best, citing the Bobonong Multipurpose Co-operative and Boasaboapele Horticultural Co-operative.

She noted that the Bobonong Multipurpose Co-operative had a project to construct a P15 million mall in the village Central District Business.

Bobirwa, she stated, was earmarked for tourism and said people could use that to set up tourism ventures such as catering, hotel and accommodation ventures as well as transportation.

Ms Olweny said since the area had a lot of ground water, they hoped to see many businesses emerging in the area.

She noted that setting up businesses would help revive the economy by creating jobs, reducing poverty and improving the standard of living.

The outreach programme engaged various departments and parastatals in the ministry, which she said, would help the community with information on how to set up businesses and engage in trade.

She, however, noted that there were challenges facing businesses such as competition, both locally and regionally, and barriers that included trade acts and policies which needed to be looked into.

Ms Olweny said some policies and trade acts would be debated in Parliament to ensure that there were no barriers hindering doing business in the country.

The outreach roped in departments that fall within the ministry such as Department of Industrial Affairs, Economic Diversification Drive, Department of International Trade and Department of Cooperative Development. ENDS