24 Jan 2023

- As more consumers shun conflict diamonds in preference of development diamonds, it is the same with other goods and products such as leather

Local Enterprise Authority (LEA) acting chief executive officer, Mr Godfrey Molefe, said modern consumers were also concerned about the environment and how the products they bought affected the eco-system.

He said green credentials were critical in the tanning industry because consumers wanted to know how their leather goods were made, how the animals were killed and how the processing of the leather affected the environment.

Therefore, he said waste management at the upcoming Lobatse leather park would determine the feasibility of penetrating the lucrative European market. 

He added that the recent rescoping of the leather park project was crucial as it aligned the facility with international standards and procedures.

He said the rescoping also had other benefits, noting that the new proposed solid waste solution would generate energy which would feed back into the system to lower operating costs.

He added that President Dr Mokgweetsi Masisi’s Reset Agenda also prompted LEA to look at its processes and the benefits to other sectors such as agriculture with the utilisation of the sewage sludge.

He emphasised that the intention was to make the leather park more efficient, profitable, sustainable and more environmentally friendly or green. 

He also noted that Lobatse and other economic sectors would benefit from some of the proposed projects, which included a treatment plant for the town’s waste water to generate irrigation water that met Botswana Bureau of Standards. Mr Molefe also said the relocation of the proposed leather park to a new site within the Special Economic Zone (SEZ) would benefit the zone through shared infrastructure. 

He added that the leather park would meet or exceed current international audit protocols on tanneries.

He also said from an investor perspective, a leather park in a Special Economic Zone would be more appealing than at the old site behind sewage ponds.

Mr Molefe emphasised that the leather park concept was initially conceived with profitability and sustainability in mind, adding several studies were conducted as well as a business case, reviews and validation of minimal raw material required to start a viable project.

He said emerging risks forced the review of the scope and the business case and that it was decided to merge the 10 tonne units into a single unit of 70 tonnes, which was profitable from 20–25 tonnes of hides a day

Mr Molefe said the project objective had always been to provide a conducive investment opportunity for local and international investors and to avail finished leather to enterprises. 

He added that the shortage of tanned leather had been a stumbling block for growth of the local leather manufacturing sector.

He said the leather park would provide opportunities for entrepreneurship development and job opportunities at individual and commercial levels.

Mr Molefe also noted that the leather industry employed a large number of people, especially women. 

He added that the various value chains within the industry would provide a platform for improvement of livelihoods. BOPA