16 Jul 2024

Assistant Minister of Trade and Industry, Ms Beauty Manake has  appealed to private sector to support local manufacturing businesses by procuring goods locally.

She said this while opening Selebi Phikwe Trade Fair and Agriculture Expo on Thursday, emphasising that statutory instruments adopted by government to protect local manufacturing industry also applied to private sector.

She said SPEDU economic zone in particular, had a lot to offer because of a wide array of goods produced in that region citing Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and uniform.

The assistant minister raised concern over private companies that preffered external companies over local when procuring PPE and uniform.

This, she said was done despite  the fact that there were local companies in the SPEDU region that produced same goods, urging Business Botswana (BB) to help government address those procuring entities.

On other issues, Ms Manake commended BB for joining hands with Selebi Phikwe Town Council (SPTC) to resuscitate the Selebi Phikwe Trade Fair which had been suspended for some years.

The fair, the assistant minister said  would provide an opportunity for local businesses which were an epitome of creativity and resilience to showcase their products, share ideas with other entrepreneurs.

In addition, she said the fair would go a long way to change the phase of Selebi Phikwe and improve doing business in the copper mining town.

For his part, BB Chief Executive Officer, Mr Norman Moleele said they had built relationship with SPTC hence BB has an active business council in Selebi Phikwe.

The Local Consultative Council facilitated by BB, he said met quarterly with the District Commissioner to exchange ideas and facilitate business operations in the district.

“This means more participation by the local entrepreneurs. We need to sit down and talk about how we can improve our town,” said Mr Molelele.

Furthermore, he said due to global economic challenges Business Botswana advocated for policies and reforms that empowered private sector to drive sustainable job creation and contribute significantly to the Gross Development Product (GDP).

A trade fairs like this one, Mr Moleele said were crucial because they provided a platform for local businesses to network, collaborate, explore new opportunities, adding that as BB they were committed to fostering an environment where businesses strived, encourage innovation and promote sustainability.

He said BB had supported many interventions from the government to reduce the import bill and grow the economy, adding that food security and sustainability were paramount under the leadership of President Dr Mokgweetsi Masisi.

Mr Moleele also thanked all those who contributed to the success of the fair and promised a bigger and better trade fair next year.

However, Selebi Phikwe Town Mayor, Mr Lucas Modimana thanked BB for making this expo a reality by bringing private sector to Selebi Phikwe.

He said since the closure of the BCL mine, the town had witnessed a period of economic depression resulting in the suspension of the Selebi Phikwe Trade fair in 2017.

Mr Modimana said Selebi Phikwe as a special economic zone offered good opportunities in the agro- processing, manufacturing and tourism sectors.

The fair also witnessed signing of Memorandum of Understanding between Business Botswana and SPTC to solidify their commitment to revitalise the economy of Selebi Phikwe through an annual trade fair and agricultural expo. ENDS