27 Sep 2020

The director of Industrial Affairs, Ms Obusitswe Tiroesele says the Industrial Act and the Trade Act, will boost business startups.

When addressing a full council meeting in Francistown recently, Ms Tiroesele said the two pieces of legislation, both enacted in 2019, would among others help speed up issuance of licenses to business operators.

She cited as an example that under the old dispensation, all manufacturing and trading businesses required a license before they could operate; something she stated was not necessarily the case under the new law.

Ms Tiroesele said under the new law, there was going to be businesses that required a license prior to being operational and those that would only needed a registration certificate to operate.

 “Manufacturing businesses that have the potential to affect public safety and public health such as those manufacturing chemicals are issued trading licenses to start operating but only after an inspection has been done,” she said.

Trading businesses such as cosmetic shops, she said were only issued with a registration certificate and were free to start operating immediately provided the business had a premise for operation.

Furthermore, Ms Tiroesele noted that business operators with a registration certificate were also expected to notify the council and other authorities of their business premises within 30 days of operation to allow for inspection.

Another welcome development according to Ms Tiroesele was that licensee committees had been eliminated and industrial officers put in their place to help issue out licenses and registration certificates over the counter. This, she said was done to speed up the process.

She therefore urged councilors to encourage Small, Medium & Micro Enterprise businesses (SMMEs) to seek funding to contribute towards the development of the country.

For her part, the director of Trade and Consumer Affairs, Ms Seipato Olweny said that certain manufacturing activities such as bread and confectionery were now reserved wholly for citizens.

She said businesses such as bricks and candles manufacturing had been reserved for citizens only.

Ms Olweny warned that manufacturing businesses that would be found fronting or not complying with the conditions of the licenses would be shut down.

She further said that there were other penalties for tricksters who would obtain trading licenses through forgery.

Those found wanting in this regard she said were liable to a fine worth P6000 or imprisonment of not more than two years.

Although councilors hailed the two pieces of legislation, they called on the two departments to come up with laws that would shield small local firms from being swallowed by large multinationals with financial muscle. ENDS