29 Apr 2021

Member of Parliament for Kanye South, Dr Lemogang Kwape recently urged a Kanye-based stock brick and paving interlocks manufacturer to assert his identity and presence in business.

Speaking to Mr Keemenao Kelesitse, trading as Moshana Bricks, Dr Kwape said government was desirous of buying goods and services locally produced by Batswana.

Dr Kwape, also Minister of International Affairs and Cooperation, urged Mr Kelesitse to raise his sights and take advantage of the virgin market, especially in the Southern District.

He said marketing the products with vigor across the district could gain him a foothold in the market.

The minister also advised the youthful entrepreneur to register with the Botswana Bureau of Standards for quality assurance purposes.

Dr Kwape was happy that the self-funded venture would save residents the cost of having to travel outside the village to buy the products and also create a number of job opportunities for locals at different points along the value chain.

Mr Kelesitse, for his part, thanked Dr Kwape for making time to visit his venture. 

He described the visit as a shot in the arm for the newly established business.

When COVID-19 struck, a formerly self-employed computer technician said jobs became few and far between, but realised that jobs along the lines of manufacturing, food production kept going nonetheless.

Instead of sitting back, folding arms and wallowing in self-pity, he made a virtue of necessity and ventured into a brick-molding business with a startup capital of P260 000.

Mr Kelesitse said they produced 4 000 to 18 000 bricks a day, depending on demand, but explained that what was even more important for them was to produce products of consistently high quality.

He said his prospect was to expand and become the epicentre of interlocks and stock bricks in the Southern part of the country in the not too distant a future.

Dr Kwape also visited some food vendors around Kanye to appreciate some challenges they faced. Ends