02 Sep 2020

National Agro Processing Botswana (NAPRO) is being run as a project by the National Food Technology Research Centre (NFTRC).

Answering a question in Parliament on September 1, Ms Manake said that the current operations manager was as such seconded from NFTRC to oversee the day to day operations of NAPRO, following retrenchment of the substantive operations manager in 2017.

Ms Manake said the current status reflected transitional arrangements since NAPRO was part of the arms of operation under NFTRC that had been identified to merge with others into forming the National Agricultural Research and Development Institute (NARDI). 

However, she said the substantive position of the current officer was senior marketing officer, which she said was promoted into in February last year. 

“The current arrangement therefore continues as is until the rest of staff is absorbed into NARDI through skills matching,” she said.

Manake said the merger process was currently in progress and was scheduled to be completed on or before March 2021. 

Ms Manake further said there were currently eight positions vacant at NAPRO, saying the positions would remain vacant and were being managed at NFTRC until the merger was effected. Ms Manake indicated that she was aware that there was no backup generator at NAPRO, saying the plan had always been to gradually increase the power needs based on the gradual increase in production or growth. 

She pointed out that the current capacity utilisation was so low that the current power cuts did not account for losses in production.

“The backup generator will be put in place as production increases, estimated in two years’ time.” 

She noted that her ministry was taking steps to ensure that NAPRO reached optimum production and started making profit.

Some of the steps, she said, included optimising products and aggressive marketing so that the products could penetrate the market sufficiently to stimulate an increase on the production capacity, mobilising farmers to ensure sufficient supply of the right quality and varieties of raw materials needed for processing. 

She said that the participation of farmers in the UNDP Supplier Development Programme was aimed at strengthening existing small and medium enterprises and linking them with large entities to ensure a market for their products and subsequent sustainability. 

Manake said it was envisaged that the institutional markets could open up to purchase NAPRO products, which would stimulate an increase in the production capacity, adding that currently products were marketed through retail chain stores such as Choppies, Spar and Sefalana. 

Selebi Phikwe East MP, Mr Kgoberego Nkawana had asked the minister to state why the operations manager at NAPRO was still working under acting capacity and when government intended to promote the officer to a full operations manager.

 Mr Nkawana had also asked the minister to state the number of vacant posts available at NAPRO and the time frame they needed to fill them. 

Further, the Selebi Phikwe legislator asked the minister to state whether her ministry intended to have a backup generator, since it was operating without the generator. Ends