16 Feb 2020

Establishment and development of local industries is of paramount importance if government is to reach the economic growth it desires, says  Mr Thapelo Letsholo.

Presenting a motion February 14, Mr Letsholo, who is Member of Parliament for Kanye North, asked Parliament to resolve that local distribution, courier and transportation services be reserved for 100 per cent citizen-owned companies.

He also suggested that all foreign transport and courier companies be only allowed a single drop-off once they arrived in Botswana. That, he said, would help create jobs and promote the development of the domestic transportation industry and companies.

He said South African’s appointed their own transport magnates for Botswana’s imported goods to handle transportation, delivery and distribution of goods to and within Botswana.

Such, he said, was a missed opportunity for local transport and logistics companies who could handle domestic distribution of imported goods.

He said adoption of the motion would ease increased growth, specialisation and diversification of existing areas of commerce like agriculture.

“The introduction of reefer-trucks, climate-loggers and air cargo serviced by local businesses will see an increase in agricultural business ventures,” he said, adding that it would also enable increased export of beef and citrus by local farmers as local logistics and transport businesses grew to match demand.

With transport forming 10 per cent of the value of goods, Mr Letsholo said Botswana’s import bill of P70 billion would go a long way as revenue generator for Batswana. He said the 10 per cent would be a great business opportunity generator as the money would go into the local business landscape, create jobs, aid development, grow the economy and increase the tax revenue for government.

He also said Botswana was an import-laden ecosystem, importing fuel, food, beverages, tobacco, machinery, electric equipment, chemicals, rubber products, vehicles and others. He added that the majority of items were imported from South Africa.

He added that the transport, courier and distribution services offered opportunities for citizen-owned companies to explore and participate in the transport and logistics sector.

He said foreign companies bringing goods should select one point of delivery and leave local deliveries for 100 per cent citizen-owned entities.

He added that adoption of the motion would not only create jobs, but also attribute growth and revenue to local businesses.

However, Minister of Transport and Communications, Mr Thulagano Segokgo said the market had been liberalised and that Botswana had already made commitments on the status quo with World Trade Organisation (WTO) and SADC protocols and agreements.

With respect to the transportation of goods, he said  his ministry was in the process of reviewing the Road Transport (Permits) Act. Mr Segokgo also said local distribution, courier and transportation in the communications sector was regulated by the Communications Regulatory Authority Act of 2012 which allowed a company to provide postal services only when granted a valid license to do so.

He said there was no provision to restrict the licensing for 100 per cent citizen-owned companies.

He added that multinational companies and citizen-owned companies had been issued with a non-restrictive postal service license.

“While government would like to create opportunities for citizens, it should also be careful not to cause any conflicts with WTO and SADC commitments which might attract penalties or retaliation,” he said. 

He noted that multinationals had already brought foreign investment into Botswana, and that they had created jobs and tax revenues that financed the government budget. Ends