26 Jul 2018

Selebi Phikwe Trade and Exhibition Show is a launching pad for businesses in the SPEDU region aimed to reach out to the market locally, nationally and beyond the borders.

That was said by Minister for Presidential Affairs, Governance and Public Administration, Mr Nonofo Molefhi at the official opening of the trade and exhibition show on July 25.

The event organised by SPEDU, Selebi Phikwe Town Council (SPTC) and other government entities and is held under the theme ‘Economic Diversification Through Revitalisation’ is scheduled to end tomorrow.

The show, sponsored by Kwenantle Farms based in the Bobirwa area is also characterised by exhibition of stalls by various businesses engaged in agriculture and manufacturing as well as entertainment such as lunar park.

Minister Molefhi, who is also Member of Parliament for Selebi Phikwe East commended the region for holding the show, noting that the last time the show was held was in 2003 and later resuscitated in 2017.

He said this effort to resuscitate the show especially after the closure of BCL Mine demonstrated commitment to taking Selebi Phikwe and the region’s economy to another level. 

Minister Molefhi said the trade and investment show should be utilised as a place for businesses in the region to market and sell their products and services.

“Every business in the region is obliged to play a role in the resuscitation and diversification drive to close the gap that the closure of BCL Mine, which was the economic mainstay in the region created,” he said.

He indicated that all efforts from businesses in the region aimed to resuscitate the economy were needed.

The minister pointed out that ‘if more business projects are setup and a single business creates at least one job, the input can give impetus to the greater prospects of job creation and multiply jobs and ultimately help diversify the region’s economy.’

The SPEDU region, which includes Selebi Phikwe, Mmadinare, Bobirwa and Maunatlala areas needs to pull in synergy to realise the objective of the region’s economic resuscitation drive, he added.

Mr Molefhi said everybody must be involved to turn around the economy of the region, which has experienced a number of setbacks before such as drought, Foot and Mouth Disease outbreak, the fall of commodity prices resulting in closure of the retail industry, lack of funds and sponsors for most of the local activities and capacity for marketing events.

“In this regard, the theme of this investment and trade show calls on us to re-evaluate our opportunities and utilise opportunities available to propel our business prospects in the region to another level. We are determined to address the revitalisation and diversification efforts of the region,” he said.

He explained that SPEDU intends to create 7 000 jobs in the region in future through investment in areas such as agriculture, tourism and manufacturing and ‘everyone is responsible for playing a role.’

Minister Molefhi said an estimated cumulative P1.2 billion in investment prospects had been outlined towards elevating the economy of the region. He said government would play its part such as availing land for investment, expediting land servicing and provision of tax incentives for investors in the region.

Government, he said, would also address bottlenecks in the government systems to ease doing business.

The SPEDU chief executive officer, Dr Mokubung Mokubung saidthey had projects earmarked for the region to help resuscitate and diversify the economy of the region, adding that their partners were striving hard to realise this mandate and having an economically sustainable region.

He explained that SPEDU and SPTC have joined forces to collaborate in resuscitating and diversifying the region’s economy.

“The journey is still on’ and they are determined to see projects earmarked to take place and create employment up and running.

Dr Mokubung noted that SPEDU would also market products from the region countrywide and internationally and strive to reduce the import bill by increasing the export of products from the region.

The organisation intends to hold a business investment conference sometime next year, where businesses from the region, country and international community will participate.

Selebi Phikwe mayor, Mr Molosiwa Molosiwa applauded SPEDU, SPTC and Kwenantle Farms for teaming up to realise the Selebi Phikwe Trade and Exhibition Show.

He commended Kwenantle Farms for sponsoring the show and also commended the local organising committee led by Ms Sandra Hughes for the effort put in to make the show a success.

He called on the Selebi Phikwe and SPEDU region community to support the initiative and also play a role in resuscitating and diversifying the economy of the region. ENDS