18 Mar 2020

President of  Business Botswana, Mr Gobusamang Keebine says the COVID-19 outbreak should serve as a wake-up call for Botswana to cut down on its import bill.

 Mr Keebine said in an interview that the country might experience severe food shortages should there be a manufacturing and industry lock down in supplying countries.

Information from Statistics Botswana indicate that South Africa is the largest contributor to Botswana’s total imports, contributing 47.6 per cent with  food, beverages and tobacco and fuel dominating imports from South Africa by contributing 20.2 per cent and 16.0 per cent respectively.

Other commodities from South Africa  that  contributed  significantly  were  machinery  and  electrical  equipment  and  chemicals and rubber products at 15.3 per cent and 13.8 per cent respectively.

Namibia contributes 10.2 per cent to total imports.

Mr Keebine said the closure of borders with Botswana’s trading partners could result in catastrophic consequences as they could result in shortage of food.

He said the local business community need to proactively respond to the coronavirus epidemic through investing in the manufacturing of goods and other commodities in the aftermath of the pandemic.

He said it was time for the business community to address some of the deficiencies in the local market and cut down dependency on international and regional suppliers of goods and services.

“It is a known fact that Batswana are a consuming nation with a high import bill, hence it is high time we change out mindset and develop the spirit of self-reliance,” he said.

 He, however, said government should be commended for providing a conducive environment for economic growth. He said government has provided adequate infrastructure and connectivity while enhancing productivity and efficiency, adding that it was thus upon the local business community to take advantage of existing programmes.

 Mr Keebine also assured the public that Business Botswana would  liaise with their counterparts in other countries to ensure that there was a continuous flow of goods and commodities from trading partners even in the midst of the COVID-19 outbreak.

He also assured consumers that there would be constant supply of goods during the virus outbreak period, saying bulk buying was not necessary.

He cautioned retailers not to take advantage of the current situation by hiking prices of high demand hygienic products such as  sanitizers.

Furthermore, he stated that his organisation was supporting government efforts to closely monitor and prevent the transmission and spread of COVID-19 in Botswana. ENDs