11 Feb 2018

Specially Elected MP, Ms Bogolo Kenewendo has urged government to put measures in place aimed at speeding up the process of starting a business in this country.

Tabling a motion requesting government to reduce the cost and time associated with starting a business in Botswana, the legislator said studies by the World Bank indicate that Botswana has slid down in terms of efficiency of doing business processes.

“Entrepreneurship and SMMEs are the backbone of every economy and as such it is necessary for us to find all means necessary to support the entrepreneurs and start-ups in the country. This should be done as part of a wider eco-system that looks at the doing business environment in Botswana,” Ms Kenewendo said.

She complained that Botswana had slid down to position 81 in the World Bank rankings from the initial position of 57.

“There have been several case studies that have been done in Botswana that look at the doing business environment and they have argued that we have been sliding over the past couple of years. Just to state some of the numbers that have been outlined in the doing business report by the World Bank, Botswana currently ranks number 81 while in the past it has gone as high as ranking number 57,” she said.

She said the pre-registration process, the registration process and the post registration process took a long time in Botswana compared to competitive economies around the world.

She stated that the pre-registration process, which entailed name verification, reservation and authorisation still took some time in Botswana and should be reviewed and put in line with the international standards.

“When it comes to registration it still takes six to eight days to register a company in Botswana,” she said.

She said post registration, which deals with issues such as tax registration and business trade licensing or industrial licensing also take longer.

She said in comparison, the registration of a business usually takes a single day in a country such as Mauritius, while South Africa and Uganda also have quicker procedures compared to Botswana.

“When it comes to the first steps of becoming an entrepreneur in our country, we rank number  153. It stands that this is one of the most difficult economies to start a business and therefore one of the most difficult business environments in the world out of 190 economies,” she added.

She said the cumbersome process followed made it difficult to start a business in Botswana.

Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry, Mr Vincent Seretse said the ministry had started a process to improve doing business in Botswana, saying they intended to create opportunities and remove impediments for doing business in Botswana.

“I want to assure this house that we are seriously pursuing these issues. We have legislations that will directly respond to some of these issues. All legislations, which if all comes right, we might have the opportunity to present these in this session of Parliament,” he said.

Supporting the motion, Shoshong MP, Mr Dikgang Makgalemele said people in rural areas wishing to register business were frustrated by the long time they take to be assisted.  

“I fully support the motion because it is a motion that will benefit us immensely in rural areas. It is disturbing that in this competitive world where other countries are going out to attract investors we seem to be lagging behind in terms of the ease of doing business,” he said.

Gaborone North MP, Mr Haskins Nkaigwa said the name reservation process should be reduced to a single day.

Tonota MP, Mr Thapelo Olopeng complained that the tedious process of registering a business in Botswana frustrates young entrepreneurs who could be benefitting from the Youth Development Fund.

Mahalapye East MP, Ms Botlogile Tshireletso urged the minister to look closely into other impediments which frustrate entrepreneurs such as the difficult process of acquiring business plots and the non-renewal of residence permits for entrepreneurs. Debate on the motion will continue on Friday. Ends