02 Dec 2013

Batswana should buy local products and support local businesses so that they can grow and reduce the country’s dependence on imports.

This was said by an official from the National Food Technology Research Centre (NFTRC), Ms Thatayaone Kepaletswe when addressing the Jwaneng full council meeting recently.

She said most local businesses collapsed because of lack of support for locally made products. She added that local businesses faced stiff competition from big brands from neighbouring South Africa.

“In order to address this challenge we have partnered with other organizations such as the Citizen Entrepreneurial Development Agency (CEDA) and Local Enterprises Authority (LEA) to equip beneficiaries with skills and technical advice vital for business growth,” she said.

She explained that NFTRC offers quality assurance services to ensure that indeed products are safe for human consumption. She added that the organisation offers technical advice and training to aspiring food processing businesses.

She further appealed to councillors to spread the NFTRC message and encourage people to open businesses that used indigenous resources.

Councillor Ben Bakwena applauded NFTRC for its efforts and encouraged the organisation to spread its services throughout the country. He was however sceptical about the success rate of businesses that have received assistance from the organisation.

Meanwhile the councillors approved a motion that called for a reshuffle of council committees. The motion was tabled by Masa-a-sele ward councillor Mr Tsietsi-Oodira Kwenje, who said there is a need to reshuffle the committees because all of them were chaired by Botswana National Front (BNF) councillors, which was unprocedural.

He said the council standing orders call for equal powers for all political parties represented in the council, such that Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) councillors should also be appointed as chairpersons for some of the committees. Ends