17 Aug 2023

Entrepreneurs in Maun have called on private organisations and ministries to adopt decentralisation of services key in accelerating service delivery.

While they appreciated that ministries such as Local Government and Rural Development were a step ahead in implementing the decentralisation policy aimed to empower local authorities in decision making, they decried that the delay by some undermined government efforts to drive the reset agenda, which encouraged doing things differently.

Entrepreneurs aired their views during a business stakeholder meeting organised by North West District Council and Stanbic Bank in Maun on Wednesday.

The meeting attracted the business community, district leadership and other stakeholders.

Decentralisation, they said, could motivate people to work faster, smarter and efficiently to improve on service delivery.

One of the entrepreneurs, Mr Opelo Kgeto of Delta Pyramid Company, said some processes impeded business growth and timely service delivery because they accessed services as far as Gaborone and Francistown.

He cited a purchasing order financing from Citizen Entrepreneurial Development Agency (CEDA) saying it was prepared in Maun but signed at Gaborone and “this delayed us to provide service within the stipulated time. We believe that the authorities here should be empowered to make all decisions and assist us accordingly,” he added.

He said the current arrangement was disappointing as business people continued to encounter obstacles in their endeavours and barrier to achieve and embrace the mind-set change campaign.

The director of Sereledi Dairy Manufacturing Company, Ms Nonny Wright, concurred that decentralisation of services was key to achieve the reset agenda citing that as entrepreneurs especially those in food manufacturing were struggling because of lack of testing facilities in Maun.

She said the industry was labour intensive and yet they had to incur travelling costs just to access testing services as far as Francistown and Gaborone adding that this limited her to produce more.

Ms Wright said food production required meeting certain standards such as quality insurance which, she said, was checked by the local health authority while licensing issuance was done at Ministry of Health in Gaborone, while some tests were conducted outside the country. To renew the license, she was forced to go to Gaborone which is not only a distance but comes with costs.

Ms Mmabontle Samuel from Emang Bagwebi Association, whose membership comprised  mostly people from informal sector, decried lack of operational space as such appealed to the council to consider establishing market stalls for them.

Ms Samuel said such would enable them to operate in a systematic and organised manner such as their counterparts in other countries.

She revealed that in other countries, when shopping complexes were constructed, informal sector was catered for to keep the surrounding clean and attractive.

Ms Samuel believed that if the council could apply the concept, it could address the problem of trading in open spaces, pathways and road reserves as was the case in Maun.

In response, the council secretary, Mr Motlogelwa Thuso, noted that decentralisation was key as it aimed to bring services closer to the people, faster, effectively and believed that other ministries would follow suit.

He appreciated government effort to implement the policy in phases, citing that councils were step ahead to enhance productivity and services rendered with a view to improve economic and social wellbeing of the communities.

With regard to lack operational space by informal sector, Mr Thuso said the council was equally concerned, noting that there were places designated for market stall citing one at New Mall.

The aim, he said, was to develop the areas and accommodate small entrepreneurs but their efforts were in vain as there were issues surrounding the said area and the matter was before court.

He said the Maun Development Plan which was launched in 2021 had also included operational space for the informal sector.

 “We wanted you to operate in a safe and secure area because we consider informal businesses as key component in the growth of the economy hence we are eager to facilitate your operation,” he added. Ends