24 Mar 2022

The Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry has made efforts to set up manufacturing industries in districts, including the Ghanzi South constituency.

Investment, trade and industry minister, Mr Mmusi Kgafela said this in response to a parliamentary question recently.

“As part of these efforts, in 2011, my ministry, through BITC, conducted a Regional Opportunity Mapping Study to investigate availability of resources and sustainable commercial-scale projects, throughout the country,” he said.

He said the study, together with the outreach programme that BITC conducted with the Ministry of Agricultural Development and Food Security in 2020, revealed the potential to establish large scale establishments, which would require considerable capital outlay in both the horticulture and cattle farming in the Ghanzi District.

Further, he said the Ghanzi District was part of the Meat Cluster under the Lobatse Special Economic Zone, which would cover establishment of manufacturing industries in the entire Meat Value Chain.

“The decision to designate Lobatse Special Economic Zone the Meat Cluster was guided by among others, access to raw materials, proximity of products to markets and product competitiveness.

Therefore, inclusion of the Ghanzi South constituency in the Meat Cluster is a deliberate effort by Government to facilitate manufacturing industries in these areas,” the minister said.

He also told MPs that the ministry’s approach to development of the manufacturing sector was guided by the Industrial Development Policy, adding that a number of activities continued to be undertaken to implement the policy throughout the country.

Mr Kgafela, however, highlighted that investing in the manufacturing industries depended largely on the willingness and commitment by the private sector taking advantage of opportunities that government availed.

Ghanzi South legislator, Mr Motsamai Motsamai had wanted to know if the minister would consider establishing or setting up cattle by product manufacturing industries in his constituency. ENDS