22 Oct 2024

CEDA chief executive officer, Mr Thabo Thamane has expressed displeasure over low rate of start-ups in the manufacturing sector.

Appreciating that other sectors of the economy were making use of funding offered by the organisation, he said the same could not be said about the manufacturing sector yet it was a key driver of long term sustainable economic growth, job creation and reducing the import bill.

He told a recent kgotla meeting in Maun that CEDA had invested P480 million in the North West region, P151 million invested in property projects, P50 million in agric-business projects and only P15 million towards the manufacturing sector.

“I urge you to take manufacturing sector seriously. Be innovative and engage our office to help on which projects you can venture into,” said Mr Thamane.

Regarding Chema Chema programme, Mr Thamane said they experienced a high number of applications when the initiative launched noting that in the North West region, they received 3 367 of which 2 402 were successfully approved and were valued at P53 million.

He said agency approved close to 30 applications every day and appreciated that women were showing a lot of interest in the programme. He said out of the total approved, 72 per cent were women while youth made 32 per cent with 758 having applied.

Mr Thamane said people living with disabilities were also coming forth and already 15 applications from that group had been approved.

He pleaded with parents to encourage their children to take advantage of the programmes.

Mr Thamane further highlighted that the services sector was leading in terms of applications which made 70 per cent, agriculture second at 23 per cent and manufacturing at eight per cent.

The programme is primarily aimed to assist citizens grow their businesses, create employment opportunities and aid economic growth, Mr Thamane said and further stated that it was also designed to enable financial inclusion and aid growth in the informal sector through provision of short term loans.

He said it seemed Batswana concentrated much in the agricultural and services sector and forgot about other sectors hence advised that they tap into opportunities available in other sectors in the interest of achieving prosperity for all.

Restrict on importation of some vegetables, Mr Thamane said empowered locals to produce more.

Some residents stated that even though Chema Chema interest rates were affordable, the problem was inadequate funding which limited them to do more.

They also complained about delay to disburse funds, to which Mr Thamane said some applicants took their time when called to sign contract agreements which caused the delay.

He also said some applicants wished to venture into technical projects which needed more money but said clients were given advise on projects before funds could be disbursed. Ends