President Dr Mokgweetsi Masisi has assured farmers that government will do everything in its power to ensure livestock farming becomes more efficient and productive.

The President told farmers at Mr Rudy Lemckey’s farm in the Ghanzi District on Friday that government had confidence in livestock farming.

Dr Masisi said even though a decision to privatize Botswana Meat Commission (BMC) had beentaken,acommitmentwas made by the government to settle

the P72 million arrears owed to farmers in not more than six weeks. He regretted that farmers were owed money long beyond the set standard time saying this was a reflection that things needed to change at the BMC.

Dr Masisi indicated that details of the changes would emerge after investigating and learning more on the basis of the transactional adviser which government had sought.

“It might result in the liberalisation of BMC or in privatisation; you always be informed and engaged,” the President told farmers.

Also, he noted that government had just completed a study on liberalisation of the beef sector which the cabinet have to reflect on and take a decision.

“As we constantly receive complaints and well-thought suggestions about the industry on what should happen at a policy level, strategic level and legislative level, we cannot claim to be short of ideas. We should take decisions on time,” he added.

President Dr Masisi informed farmers that government had taken a decision to expedite restructuring of the BMC adding that the unbundling of abattoirs would help the BMC to move away from maintenance losses.

“The Maun abattoir will be treated as a national strategic area of risks management. Keeping it as the national asset will be our social burden but it will not continue to burden the BMC as they will be separated,” he said.

He said government took a long time to act on the decision to shut down operations at the Francistown abattoir arguing that this was because “we are a democratic country where people have the right for audience...”

privatisation and the plan was that by July, the model would have been established.

To address the issue of standards and beef value chain, he said government had decided to set up a commercial beef regulator while the Public Enterprises Evaluation Privatization Agency (PEEPA) was currently developing a regulatory framework to inform the setting up of meat regulator.

He said expectation was that the framework would be ready by May this year and with focus on licenses, prices, issues relating tostandard,consumerprotection and ethical conduct. BOPA