06 Mar 2019

The Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry, has re-focused its implementation approach and initiatives on a perfective apex model to ensure a more coordinated approach towards SMMEs development and investment promotion as well as export development.

Minister Bogolo Kenewendo said this when delivering her ministry’s 2019/2020 budget proposal amounting to P1.1 billion.

Ms Kenewendo stated that SMMEs apex development aimed at prioritising entrepreneurship and advancement of SMMEs as the catalysts to achieving economic diversification and economic growth and development.

The investment promotion Apex, on the other hand she said would bring investment opportunities to the attention of both potential foreign and local investors, who have the capacity to provide capital, jobs, skills and technology to the country.

She said the Apex export development aimed to explore an export lead growth by promoting export of goods, for which the country has comparative advantage.

Ms Kenewendo indicated that the country has according to Bank of Botswana registered a modest growth in the past ten months as firms were more upbeat about economic performance and perceived an improved business atmosphere.

In pursuit of promoting SMMES development in the country, her ministry she said had through the SMMEs development Apex successfully undertaken initiatives such as the establishment of entrepreneurship centers of excellence across the country through refurbishing old LEA factories shells in order for them to operate as incubators and centers of excellence.

The incubation refurbishment, she said sought to accelerate the development of entrepreneurs by providing them with conducive business operating spaces.

The minister emphasised government efforts to support small and micro-scale enterprises, highlighting their importance to employment generation and economic diversification.

She said SMMEs were major catalysts to achieving economic diversification hence the growth of SMMEs in the country portrayed aspects of economic and commercial changes such as the declining importance of centralised mass production and the growth of the service sector which could be accommodated by SMMEs flexibility and specialisation.

Government, she said appreciated the importance of the SMME sector in meeting the national development objectives of rapid economic growth, economic independence as well as sustainable development.

Ms Kenewendo stated that her ministry continued to develop initiatives aimed at supporting local manufacturers and ensuring their growth.

She added that the bottled water importation restriction was as a clear testimony of government commitment to supporting local goods.

She highlighted the implementation of Economic Diversification Drive (EDD) as another field which government aimed to improve.

EDD short term strategy implementation, she said continued to experience challenges due to the use of micro procurement and direct appointment and selective tendering methods by procuring entities which undermined the EDD initiative.

Furthermore, Ms Kenewendo pleaded with Parliament to approve her ministry’s 2019/2020 proposals of P1.1 billion.

The figure, she added, showed a 0.2 per cent increase from last year’s proposal.

She said P1 billion was for the recurrent budget while P108 million was for the development budget.

Under the recurrent budget, 80 per cent of the budget would be allocated to subventions to nine parastatals amongst them, CEDA, CIPA, LEA, SPEDU, Botswana Bureau of Standards and Botswana Investment and Trade Centre (BITC).

Five departments under the ministry had been allocated 20 per cent of the proposed budget (P214 million).

Meanwhile, under the development budget, the following projects; MTI computerisation, Leather Industry Park, Establishment of Competition and Consumer Authority and Competition and Consumer Tribunal and Special Economic Zones would receive the largest share of P60 million. ENDS