17 Oct 2017

The high level of unemployment could be a thing of the past if the Economic Diversification Drive (EDD) is implemented accordingly.

Assistant Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry, Mr Biggie Butale said this when addressing a kgotla meeting in Ramotswa on Monday.

He said the initiative since its introduction has not been fully exploited hence the county has not benefited as anticipated.

“Currently, the country imports goods valued around P70 billion yearly and such amounts could rescue the country from unemployment challenges,” he said.

He stated that the programme could spur local companies growth as well as lure investors as they would have confidence in the local market.

However, he regretted that there were government procuring entities which still flouted EDD in their procuring processes, and noted that the successful implementation of the initiative required the input of all.

He called on the business community to be on the lookout for any government tender which does not include any provision for procurement from local supplies.

Mr Butale said such tenders would be recalled, adding that it would not help the business community to complain when a tender had already been awarded.

The assistant minister also called on the community to take advantage of the cooperative revitalisation strategy.

Mr Butale regretted that many cooperatives had failed and that the community was failing to take advantage of the existing support from the Department of Cooperatives.

During comments, residents said government programmes were not easy to access’ due to stringent requirements.

One resident, Mr Jacob Mogatle said there were many requirements for one to be assisted and that some of the requirements were complicated.

“What is normally said during public meetings is not what transpires when one follows up such programmes,” he said.

He added that for one to be assisted by the Local Enterprise Authority (LEA), they had to go for an assessment which would determine their progress.

Another resident, Mr Tirelo Mokweetsi pleaded with the government to improve on programme implementation.

He said government programmes took long and added that even government payments took a long time.

Other community members also decried that cooperatives owed them.

Earlier, Balete deputy chief, Kgosi Tsimane Mokgosi said there was need for Batswana to be empowered on investing, especially savings.

He said for a long time Batswana had been investing in agriculture, but were not fully exploiting it as an investment opportunity. ENDS