25 Feb 2021

The private sector is taking advantage of the Mma Ramotswe site by taking people on tour of the area. Ms Kereng said there was already a Mma Ramotswe package sold by tour operators in Gaborone covering places named in the book. She further explained that the package allowed tourists to have an experience of the Mma Ramotswe lifestyle in Gaborone as tourists got to visit sites mentioned in the book such as the University of Botswana, Mma Ramotswe’s residence and the Anglican Church. “This is in line with my ministry’s vision of allowing the private sector to take a lead in driving the tourism growth and development in the country, and we will continue to identify opportunities that can be explored through Mma Ramotswe and let the private sector run with them,” she said.

Moreover, Ms Kereng noted that the site where the film was shot was situated on the Catholic Church land, and that her ministry had previously made attempts towards its utilisation but was not successful. However, she said her ministry would continue with negotiations on the utilisation of the site with the Catholic Church with a view to exploring opportunities within the area.

The minister also said the development of the highway could present many opportunities for the private sector to engage in, and that her ministry would continue to explore opportunities that were brought about by the development of the highway. She said her ministry would continue encouraging and working with tour operators to develop tourism products which would take advantage of the Mma Ramotswe site and any other places of interest across the country.

The MP for Gaborone Bonnington South, Mr Christian Greef had asked the minister to state what the ministry was doing to promote the Mma Ramotswe site for tourism purposes. Mr Greef also wanted to know if the ministry would consider opening the place up to the private sector to set up coffee shops and restaurants, thereby promoting and creating employment at the same time, and whether the new highway would not present an opportunity to facilitate such an initiative. ends