03 Aug 2020

Parliament on Friday unanimously voted in favour of passing a motion tabled before the National Assembly by Kanye North Member of Parliament, Mr Thapelo Letsholo for the business of transporting goods in Botswana to be reserved for wholly citizen-owned companies.

Mr Letsholo had requested that Parliament ‘resolves that the local distribution, courier and transportation of goods in Botswana be reserved for 100 per cent citizen-owned companies and that all foreign transport and courier companies be only allowed a single drop-off once they arrive in Botswana’.

During the debate on the motion, the majority of MPs from across the parliamentary aisle voiced their approval.  

Mr Letsholo had reminded the assembly that the motion, initially tabled at a previous session of Parliament, had been adjourned then to allow him to consult and reach consensus on certain aspects with relevant ministries.

This had been prompted by the Minister of Transport and Communications, Mr Thulagano Segokgo having asked to first engage with the Kanye North MP and the Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry, Ms Peggy Serame in order to confirm if there were any binding regional or international agreements entered into by the country that might be an impediment.

After an assessment by the relevant ministries and the engagement of the two ministers with the mover of the motion, no constraints were noted, the Kanye North legislator revealed. 

Parliament was thus at liberty to pass the motion, which would assist in empowering local companies to engaged in this sector, Mr Letsholo said.

He said according to trade experts, goods that passed through Botswana in a year were worth P70 billion and the cost of transporting them was normally at around 10 per cent of that value. 

He expressed the hope that citizen businesses would derive greater benefit from such trade.

While voicing his support, the Minister of Finance and Economic Development, Dr Thapelo Matsheka, sounded a note of caution that Parliament had the tendency to amend regulations  piecemeal instead of engaging in a comprehensive review.

He said he believed the proposed Citizenship Empowerment Act would be an opportune moment for Parliament to address the over arching legislation regarding reserving different types of businesses for Batswana.

Dr Matsheka also said that in planning, MPs should always study the practicality of the measures being proposed.  

He said, for example, calling for the establishment of a dry port where goods would be dropped off before being distributed countrywide was welcome, but without the emergence of domestic business players, non-citizen companies could exploit the value chain.

The Minister for Presidential Affairs, Governance and Public Administration, Mr Kabo Morwaeng said while some MPs said indigenous Batswana should be prioritised, his belief was that all citizens should be empowered.

“We should not divide the nation according to ethnicity, we are a unitary state and are a united nation and we should support one another.  

Those who are already successful should assist and mentor others to improve their economic participation,” Mr Morwaeng said.

He added that the motion was consistent with the governing Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) 2019 election manifesto, which he said prioritises citizen empowerment and ensuring that the economic environment frees private business.

Ngami MP, Mr Caterpillar Hikuama, while agreeing in principle with the motion, still cautioned that extreme protectionism could lead to other countries in the Southern African region also restricting Batswana from accessing business opportunities.

He said improving the capacity of citizen businesses to deliver should be a priority since there had been the challenge of poor implementation of projects by wholly citizen-owned companies in sectors such as construction.

Maun East representative, Mr Goretetse Kekgonegile said the motion spoke to the heart of citizen empowerment and could assist in further ensuring that the country’s economy was driven by Batswana.

He, however, lamented the fact that the majority of indigenous Batswana lacked the start-up capital to take advantage of such efforts, and that people in the western part of the country were particularly felt dis-empowered economically. 

Mr Kekgonegile said in passing the motion the country should prepare to build the capacity of citizen businesses in order for them  to participate meaningfully. Ends