23 Oct 2025

Despite its potential to transform and diversify the country’s economy and create more employment opportunities, the tourism sector has a lot of untapped opportunities across the country.

Contributing to the debate on the Environment and Tourism Chapter of the National Development Plan 12 (NDP 12) on Wednesday, Selebi-Phikwe East MP, Mr Kgoberego Nkawana said government should review the licensing requirements for tourism enterprises to enable more people to play a role in growing the sector and creating employment for youth.

He also said there was need to establish a museum in Selebi Phikwe as a way of promoting cultural tourism. 

“There is nothing that shows that Selebi Phikwe is a mining town and we need to have a museum to showcase the history of the town and the mine,” he said.

In addition, Mr Nkawana emphasised the importance of public education on best waste management practices. He urged government to come up with initiatives that would motivate people to turn plastic waste into income generating projects, to curb environmental degradation caused by plastic litter.

For his part, MP for Nata/Gweta Mr Lawrence Ookeditse said Makgadikgadi Pans had a lot of potential worth harnessing to diversify the economy of the communities. He said the area had rich cultural heritage which needed to be properly packaged for tourism purposes. 

“The area offers more diversity and potential than we are currently doing. The people have a lot of interesting stories based on history and indigenous knowledge,” he noted.

He said there was potential for archaeological explorations which could enhance the cultural heritage of the area and contribute towards economic diversification. He further said there was need to establish a craft shop to showcase the artifacts produced by local people to take advantage of its strategic location for tourists.

“There should also be an online version of the same craft market facilitated by the department using earnings from tourism, to empower the communities to generate income with their products,” he said.

He further called for effective implementation of human wildlife conflict strategies which would not only prevent incidents but also ensure better compensation for loss of lives and property.

In his contribution, Kgatleng East legislator Mr Mabuse Pule said government’s tourism initiatives should not only be concentrated in the same areas, while leaving out the potential in other places in the Southern part of the country.

He said Kgatleng East had a variety of fish species which could boost the tourism industry. He noted that various cultural sites in Kgatleng could be developed to create employment opportunities for young people.

Additionally, he said the ministry should consider adopting effective and new technologies for waste management. He said landfills in Kgatleng area were not properly managed and were life-threatening as they encountered fire outbreaks from time to time, as well as polluting the environment.

He also said fire breakers should be regularly maintained to curb veld fires which were a threat to food security. Furthermore, Mr Pule called for the inclusion of environmental management in the school curriculum. 

“I urge your ministry to collaborate with the ministry of education to introduce environmental management in the school curriculum and undertake capacity building for teachers,” he said. ENDS