29 Dec 2013

A marketing strategy to sell products produced by beneficiaries under the Poverty Eradication Programme and Batswana in general is underway.

Poverty Eradication Programme spokesperson, Mr Masego Ramakgati from Office of the Vice President, said in an interview that under the strategy, they were planning to have a Poverty Eradication Programme sub-committee that will be assigned to look at the market access in all districts and regions in Botswana.

Mr Ramakgati also noted that the strategy would look into testing the market regionally in the SADC countries as well as the rest Africa and ultimately globally. He said they had a plan in place to market goods produced by beneficiaries in government organisations.

To that, he said, a directive had been issued to all government and parastatal organs to purchase goods produced locally such as hand crafts, leather products, paintings, beadwork, clothing and other artefacts.

He further said diplomatic missions in various countries around the world had been assigned to market Botswana products. The move, he explained, was aimed at promoting goods produced by Batswana.

“We intend fostering good relations with countries in the North and South America, Asia and Europe and form partnerships where we will be able to cooperate in marketing our goods,” he said. 

He noted that his organisation also intended to benchmark with cooperating parties from countries in the said continents on how they eradicate poverty as a move to improve Poverty Eradication Programme in Botswana if there is a need. ENDS