05 Dec 2018

Public Enterprises Evaluation and Privatization Agency (PEEPA) will privatise the Botswana Meat Commission (BMC) and establish a meat regulator.

PEEPA director of public services and outsourcing, Mr Ishmael Joseph, said when addressing residents of Moshupa in a kgotla meeting that the regulator would focus on quality control by setting standards and regulations for meat grading and animal inspection as well as licensing of abattoirs, marketing and distribution agents.

“This will enforce compliance with international market requirements in areas such as hygiene and sanity requirements and enforcement in standards and regulations in relation to the protection of farmer`s interests,” he clarified.

Mr Joseph said BMC would be transformed into a limited liability company under the Companies Act.

Regarding privatisation of Air Botswana, he said they were reviewing its business model with the view to make it profitable and sustainable with possible areas for unbundling, including ground handling services and maintenance.

He said development of a privatisation strategy, which included various options was expected by May 2019. While PEEPA was tasked with leading the privatisation exercise as custodians of the policy, he explained, adding that the implementation of denationalisation option was approved by Cabinet.

Mr Joseph further told residents that his organisation aimed at transforming the nation into a private sector led economy, adding that privatisation would facilitate greater private sector participation in the country’s economy which he stressed would increase ownership of national assets.

He, however, explained that privatisation would not involve core government responsibilities such as safety and wellness of its citizens, but also involved the disposal of public enterprise assets or transfer of ownership of public enterprises to the private sector.

Mr Joseph said privatisation presented opportunities for citizen owned businesses to thrive and encouraged residents to take advantage.

He shared that the methods of privatisation included divestiture and outsourcing, explaining that divestiture encompassed sales of shares and strategic equity partners as well as management of employee buyout, while outsourcing touched on transfer of provision of services to the private sector.

Mr Joseph argued that privatisation would relieve government of administrative and financial burden which no longer needed to be done by the public sector.

Mr Joseph pointed out that various modalities would be considered for various parastatals to improve efficiency.

He also revealed that the exercise would be done in a transparent and equitable way in order to avoid perception of unfair dealings. He stressed that the intention was for it to benefit all not just a privileged few.

Where possible Mr Joseph said a regulatory and supervisory authority would be created where monopolies are expected.

Residents however advised government to treat the privatisation of BMC with the sensitivity it deserved to ensure the move was in the best interest of farmers. ENDS