03 Jul 2018

Government is working on legislative reforms that will enhance the ease of doing business in Botswana.

Vice President Slumber Tsogwane said this when addressing Khumaga and Moremaoto residents recently where he also donated 100 blankets to the elderly and underprivileged community members in each village.  He indicated that government had introduced the alcohol levy and regulated operating hours for liquor outlets in effort to address societal ills that came as a result of abuse of alcohol.

Nevertheless, he indicated that government was looking into reviewing and determining whether such had achieved the intended purpose in terms of reducing alcohol consumption.

He noted that companies such as Kgalagadi Breweries Limited, which had employed a lot of Batswana, were adversely affected by such laws and were compelled to shut down some operations and downsize staff.

He added that government was currently grappling with serious challenges of unemployment, hence the need to review the laws.

The vice president said the reforms would cover reviewing of laws that prevented investors from entering the country including acquisition of residence permits and citizenship.

He said government was also considering reviewing the hunting ban to establish whether it had a positive impact on people’s lives.

Reviewing laws, he said, was not condemnation of the previous leadership but was intended to establish ways of enhancing service provision.

Mr Tsogwane further explained that reviews were done after thorough research and information gathered through consultations. ENDS