26 Mar 2018

The Assistant Minister of Investment Trade and Industry Mr Biggie Butale says Competition Authority plays a significant role in carving out the path towards economic growth.

Officially opening the national competition conference in Selebi Phikwe recently, Mr Butale said without the input of Competition Authority in regulating the business market, growth in employment, productivity and other efficiencies will not be realised.

He said this would be because of harmful anti-competitive conducts such as bid-rigging and collusive tendering, market allocation, price fixing and predatory pricing will become prevalent in the market.

“Since the establishment of the Authority in 2011, bid rigging cases account for almost 40 per cent of restrictive businesses cases that the authority has handled. Evidence has shown that bid rigging can increase the cost of goods and services by up to 20 per cent,” he said.

On the mandate of Competition Authority, he said the organisation facilitated robust competition in regard to product innovation, industrial growth, competitive prices of goods and services, quality goods, consumer welfare and general expansion of markets.

Mr Butale mentioned that in some instances, markets were not fully functional and efficient because of the legislative environment that restricted competition.

In this regard, he said government was fully supportive to the authority in its endeavour to undertake a comprehensive study of the laws that harm and restrict competition.

He went on to state that the Ministry of Investment Trade and Industry was doing all in its power to ensure that the doing business environment in Botswana was conducive to support the private sector.

“This was undertaken to improve the country’s economic performance rankings as well as attract Foreign Direct Investment and ultimately grow the economy,” he said.

He stated that the government will continue with implementation of infrastructural developments across the various economic sectors such as water, road network, energy and information technology and other sectors to stimulate the economy.

He noted that a significant amount of the budget will be utilised for this development as he implored the private sector to be ready to participate in these projects.

“These infrastructural investments will afford enterprises in Botswana to take part in economic development. This will result in job creation and sustenance of citizen livelihood,” he said.

Mr Butale indicated that in 2008 the global downturn caused many countries to experience economic contraction for a sustained period and Botswana was not spared. However, he mentioned that over the last few years, the economy of the country has improved and  witnessed some growth.

“The state of the economy was buttressed during the 2018 budget which projected a 5.3 per cent growth rate in 2018 and to achieve this growth we should all play our part,” he said.

When welcoming attendants at the conference, the Mayor of Selebi Phikwe Mr Molosiwa Molosiwa said the meeting was also meant to reflect on what could be done to stimulate the economy of Selebi Phikwe after the town’s economy slid down due to the closure of BCL Mine.

However, he mentioned that Selebi Phikwe Town Council signed a MoU with SPEDU to work together as a team to achieve economic growth of Selebi Phikwe and the region. He explained that a number of projects had been planned to take place in Selebi Phikwe that will have a positive impact on the economy of the region.

The conference held under the theme; Economic Stimulation: Is Competition the New Hope, was organised by the Botswana Competition Authority. ENDS