16 Jul 2020

Assistant Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry, Mr Karabo Gare says Batswana should strive to conquer the world in terms of exporting skills, services and goods.

Speaking at the launch of Tokafala supplier development programme in Jwaneng on July 14, Mr Gare expressed confidence on the capability of Batswana, saying he found no reason for them not to excel internationally.

He noted that the country spent billions annually on the import bill, saying it was tantamount to exporting jobs that locals dearly needed. Mr Gare cited the agricultural sector, saying it had many value chains that could be exploited to create jobs.

He said although COVID-19 was an undesirable pandemic, it had taught Batswana the need to be independent and self-sufficient.

“COVID-19 has opened our eyes and taught us to strive and start being innovative. Because of our dependency on imports, we currently have a high number of COVID-19 cases that we could have avoided if we were self-sustainable with a need of only a few imports,” he said.

Mr Gare also said the country should strive to develop the skills that were currently scarce locally. He applauded Debswana for its effort in supporting local suppliers, saying the move was along the lines of citizen empowerment.

“We are expecting Parliament to put into law the citizens empowerment bill this coming session, and that is also a good move because all along it was just a policy that was not binding,” he said.

Mr Gare urged all the 53 beneficiaries of the Tokafala programme to take advantage of the opportunity and to share the skills with other citizens who did not get a chance to be trained.

For his part, Debswana Jwaneng mine general manager, Mr Koolatotse Koolatotse said as a homegrown enterprise, Debswana had made a commitment to leverage its purchasing power to increase participation of citizen-owned companies. This, he said, would in the long run de-risk and enhance the capacity and sustainability of the local supply portfolio.

“Our 2017 policy at Debswana boldly details our intention to make citizen economic empowerment an important consideration in all business decisions.

Still, under Tokafala, we have developed a complementary programme called STRYDE where we strengthen youth development. We have deliberately targeted unemployed youth in our zone of influence to enhance their competitiveness,” he said.

Mr Koolatotse also said Tokafala prepared entrepreneurs to seize opportunities in the economy and not only in mining-related opportunities. He added that beneficiaries were free to venture into different sectors.

Tokafala programme director, Ms Montle Phuthego also appreciated Debswana for supporting the programme as well as the support they got from the town’s leadership.

Ms Phuthego said beneficiaries would be drilled in aspects such as developing business and sales strategies, identifying market opportunities, financial management as well as strengthening their ability as suppliers.

She also indicated that beneficiaries would be drilled on making business plans. She said there was concern that most small businesses operated without solid business plans, and only made such plans when they needed to apply for funding. ENDS