12 Nov 2013

Selebi Phikwe has been ignored for a long time and for this reason, BOCCIM has plans to focus on the mining town.

The BOCCIM president, Mr  Leta Mosienyane said the mining town and the entire region was neglected not by plan or design, but because when BOCCIM was setup, there was BOCCIM North and BOCCIM South which were mostly representing Francistown and Gaborone.

He said this when he was addressing attendants of the BOCCIM and Selebi Phikwe business community business gathering held at Cresta Bosele Hotel on Friday night (November 8). The event was attended by representatives from the Selebi Phikwe business community, SPEDU, BCL Mine and Selebi Phikwe Town Council.

He said the mining town was a special case and it shall be considered first by BOCCIM from now on. He said BOCCIM believed that the SPEDU initiative and BCL Polaris II objective played a significant role in the diversification of the Selebi Phikwe region and in this regard, BOCCIM had partnered with the two organisations so that they could proffer expert advice.

He said BOCCIM was having discussions with BCL and SPEDU to embark on projects that would immensely help diversify the economy of the region. He said one of the projects included the setting up of an autonomous chamber of commerce that would be focusing specifically on the SPEDU region.

“This project entails opening an office in Selebi Phikwe which will be funded and manned by experts. The office will look after both big businesses and small businesses right down to those cooking food at tuck-shops,” he said.

He said the office will be called the regional chamber of commerce. Parallel to this, BOCCIM will be looking at sector based chambers of commerce such as chamber of mines among others. He said the sector based chambers will have total autonomy but, will list up as an associate of BOCCIM where BOCCIM will sit at the apex and deal with matters of policy, regulation, and research and all macro and micro economic issues. He said the discussions are at an advanced stage.

“A lot of money is being spent in Selebi Phikwe and members are not taking key of that, members are not becoming wealthy and companies are not growing fast enough yet, funds are being thrown at Selebi Phikwe businesses,” he said.

“BOCCIM’s job will be to come here and to make sure that we facilitate it and remove all impediments that are associated with business,” he said. On other issues, Mr Mosienyane stated that some of the burning issues that matter to the business communities in the whole of Botswana that should continuously be advocated for include an open economy and eliminating business red-tape.

He said one of the key factors to economic diversification is to keep the economy of Botswana open to foreign talent, tourism and foreign currency.

“However, we should not open our economy to failures but, we should look outside to those who have successfully done well and learn from them,” he said. Mr Mosienyane said BOCCIM has made progress regarding work and residents’ permits through the implementation of a point based system.  “I do know our point based system still has some hiccups but, the system will do it will select those who will bring talent and skill to Botswana,” he said.

The BOCCIM president also said that his organization will work with the Botswana Investment and Trade Center (BITC) so that when government invests or explores business opportunities internationally, businesses registered under BOCCIM can take part in the initiative.

He said the move will help the private sector to grow and help the country develop. “When we talk about a developed country, we mean that the country has a developed private sector,” he said, adding that Selebi Phikwe and Botswana as a whole needs a vibrant private sector. ENDS