04 Jul 2017

Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry, Mr Vincent Seretse has called on cooperatives to be innovative so that they could diversify their operations and create wealth as well as contribute to society.

Mr Seretse said this when officially opening an event to commemorate International Co-operative Day under the theme: Inclusion at Anne Adams Park in Selebi Phikwe on July 1. 

He said co-operatives had the potential to eradicate poverty, generate employment, address challenges of income inequality and integrate e society. 

He called on co-operatives to run their organisations as business entities.

He said this was espoused in the Botswana co-operative transformation strategy which aims to develop new generation co-operatives which were autonomous, vibrant, competitive and profitable.

He said a vibrant and competitive co-operative envisioned in the strategy had  branding, growth pillars and linkages, financing and insurance, youth participation, governance, member participation and commitment.

He also said the co-operative movement in Botswana was undertaking a computerisation project. 

He added that the move was a step in the right direction as computerisation would strengthen internal controls for effective and efficient operations as well as provision of accurate data to aid informed decision making. 

He advised cooperatives to periodicaly undertake a market research in order to be informed and remain relevant in the market.

He noted that government continued to improve the “doing business” environment and to develop strategies and polices to facilitate enterprise development and growth. 

He said some of these included the Citizen Empowerment Policy, Economic Diversification Drive Strategy, Industrial Development Policy and market access both regionally and globally. 

He called on co-operatives to take advantage of the initiatives to grow their enterprises.

He also noted that the Botswana Co-operative Association (BOCA) was a member of Alliance-Africa and other co-operative bodies such as the African Confederation of Co-operatives Savings and Credit Association and the World Council of Credit Unions.

He urged them to continue to participate in the associations in order to influence the landscape and optimise the benefits derived from the organisations. 

Minister of Infrastructure and Housing Development, Mr Nonofo Molefhi said co-operatives played a vital role in the empowerment of Batswana. 

He said co-operatives should find more ways to create income to sustain themselves and contribute towards economic and social development.

He advised co-operatives to work together and to support each other as well as to include local businesses in their business endeavours. 

He said they should heed the guidelines laid out in the cooperative transformation strategy so that they could develop, grow and be sustainable.

For his part, the mayor of Selebi Phikwe, Mr Moloswa Molosiwa encouraged the Selebi Phikwe Co-operative to maintain its growth and to pursue operations that were relevant to the circumstances in the town. 

He also encouraged the local co-operative to work with local authorities to bring developments and to continue to economically empower youth and women, people living with disabilities and other disadvantaged people in society.

Mr Gobe Taziba, a youth from BOCA, emphasised the importance of youth inclusion in the co-operative business so that they could be empowered and contribute meaningfully in society. 

He said co-operatives should also focus on human resource development. 

He added that co-operatives should invest in human capital and come up with ways to retain and attract employees and members.

During the ceremony, dignitaries and the public had the opportunity to visit stalls setup by cooperatives from across the country, manufacturing companies as well as companies in the financial sector to get information about the services and products they provided.

The event was also graced by Assistant Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry, Mr Biggie Butale, Assistant Minister of Health and Wellness, Mr Dikgang Makgalemele, permanent secretary in the Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry, Ms Peggy Serame, chairperson of BOCA, Mr Smarts Shabani, CEO’s of parastatals, senior government officials, councillors, members of  co-operatives and the public. ENDS