25 Feb 2021

 Increased investment in local food manufacturing is beneficial to the country’s sustainable development, says Assistant Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry Mr Molebatsi Molebatsi.

Speaking during a tour of Local Enterprise Authority’s (LEA) Pilane Incubator on Wednesday,  said to that end government was committed to assist Batswana in increasing local trade and production through various programmes.

He pointed out that the COVID-19 pandemic had brought to the fore the need for Botswana to achieve self-sustainability in the supply of essential products, chief among them foodstuffs which made up a large portion of the country’s import bill.

Mr Molebatsi said self-sufficiency had the ability to reduce unemployment levels as well as create employment opportunities especially for youth.

He urged participants of LEA incubators to apply the lessons learnt through the programmes in all their production endeavours.

That way, he said, they would be contributing towards positioning the country as a dependable trade partner especially since the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) had come into operation.

He called on the different enterprises, most of them food processing businesses, to ensure careful evaluation of raw materials to ensure strict adherence to best quality and high standards of produce.

“If we are  to truly become an export nation, we need to ensure that we produce international standard products,” he said.

He said government was doing its best to protect the integrity of local markets and ensure citizen empowerment through import substitution initiatives.

Mr Molebatsi said investment organs such as LEA existed solely for ensuring that Batswana were capacitated.

 It would therefore be of great benefit for any entrepreneur to get involved with LEA in order to access business markets much more quickly, he said.

Commenting, LEA chief executive officer Dr Gracious Moatshe said the organisation was continually coming up with strategies to ensure the success of its programmes for the benefit of its clients.

Dr Moatshe disclosed that  LEA planned developing a nearby structure into a distribution  facility at an estimated cost of P6 million which would further enhance operations and reduce leasing costs.

He said LEA was committed to ensuring that more Batswana benefitted from its programmes in order to boost business activity across the country.

Participants expressed  gratitude to LEA for the assistance rendered saying they had learnt a lot through the different classes they were taking.

They said they had learnt to come up with alternative ways of thinking which would enhance their production skills. 

Honey and meat processing as well as peanut and vegetable relish (morogo) packaging are some of the activities undertaken at the Pilane Incubator. ENDS