03 Sep 2023

Botswana One Stop Service Centre has been hailed as instrumental in the establishment of Pulp and Paper Industries as it played a facilitative role in setting up the company.

The One Stop Service Centre is under the stewardship of BITC management and has been established by government to ensure seamless access by companies to services such as land allocation, immigration and labour permits, utilities and other regulatory permits for operating business in Botswana, said the Minister of Trade and Industry Mr Mmusi Kgafela.

The Minister was speaking at the official launch of Pulp and Paper Industries, a subsidiary of Strides for Success (PTY) Ltd Company at Mogoditshane on Friday. The company recycles and manufactures paper products.

As such, Mr Kgafela encouraged investors to utilise the One Stop Service Centre to establish or expand business operations.

Regarding the waste paper processing plant, Minister Kgafela said there were several opportunities that could be derived from the plant including value chains associated with waste paper processing which could emerge.

“Several value chains could support several families and the communities at large,” he emphasized.

In addition, the minister said that processing or recycling paper contributed to a clean environment or green economy.

He stated that Botswana recently acceded to the Protocol on the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AFCFTA) to benefit from increased intra-regional trade.

Therefore, he implored businesses to take advantage of export opportunities provided by the trade agreements and increase Botswana’s share of global exports, hence emphasising that recycling could make the country benefit from the market.

For his part, Mogoditshane/Thamaga council chairperson Mr Ofentse Mafoko said the recycling plant was a blessing to the district as it created employment.

He said government entities including his council had already started purchasing toilet paper manufactured from the plant.

He also revealed that just recently, the Botswana Police assured them that through their project of Safer Cities, they would ensure that businesses in Mogoditshane were safe. BOPA