21 Mar 2024

Government has taken a deliberate decision to put in place interventions that boost and protect the local manufacturing industry especially young Batswana who are capable of producing goods for the international market.

In an interview post the #PushaBw Selebi Phikwe Expo, the Minister of Trade and Industry, Mr Mmusi Kgafela, said the interventions add to SPEDU investment incentives. 

These include the Economic Inclusion Act and the Public Procurement Act which bind government departments and parastatals to procure locally produced goods and services.

He said though government had done so much to level the ground for local businesses, there were some impediments that hindered the uptake of locally produced goods by government departments and state owned entities.

“We have realised that some government departments operated with different procurement tools particularly district councils,” he said.

He said there was a need to harmonise procurement policies within government departments and state owned entities to align them to SPEDU Investment policies which guarantee that 30 per cent of goods produced in the SPEDU region would be procured by the government depending on the quality.

Mr Kgafela said this clash of policies has led to some businesses in the SPEDU region failing to enjoy the 30 per cent direct government off take incentive, adding that his ministry would work with district councils to align them to the procurement policies and the SPEDU incentives so that they too procured from businesses in the SPEDU region without fail.

Mr Kgafela, whose ministry is driving the economic diversification of the SPEDU region, said they would continue working tirelessly to bring back the SPEDU region back to life after suffering thousands of job losses due to the closure of the BCL mine which was the economic backbone of the town.

He said the #PushaBw Selebi Phikwe expo provided an opportunity for Selebi Phikwe-based businesses to showcase their products, hence encouraged procurement officers from various organisations to use this platform to appreciate the products and services provided by the region.

He also urged the private sector to also come on board to help the government to support manufacturing companies in Selebi Phikwe and the greater SPEDU region.

About 60 businesses in Selebi Phikwe graced this event and he said the platform also provided the opportunity for the business owners to network and meet potential buyers so that they could sell their goods even outside the region.

The Permanent Secretary to the President, Ms Emma Peloetletse, added that government departments should support local businesses particularly in the SPEDU region without fail.

“As the government we are going to see to it that procurement policies are implemented without fail to support local businesses,” she said.

The #PushaBw Selebi Phikwe Expo, she said, adds to many programmes set up by the government to boost the economy of Selebi Phikwe and the greater SPEDU region to enable potential customers and business owners to seal the deal.

Selebi Phikwe Citrus project, she said, was a major undertaking that would promote employment creation and value chain development within the region, encouraging Batswana to take advantage of this project to change their lives for the better.

The Acting Minister of Entrepreneurship, Mr Molebatsi Molebatsi, added that the expo demonstrated the Reset Agenda’s priority of Value Chain development which highlights value chains as a means of unlocking opportunities for new high growth companies in the private sector, youth employment among other citizen empowerment attributes.

He commended government ministries, state owned entities and other significant stakeholders for collaboratively working towards landing such an investment in the SPEDU region.

“I urge all communities of the SPEDU region as well as the country at large to take up the opportunities that are presented by the citrus project,” he said. Ends