17 Mar 2014

Ministry of Agriculture is in the process of adding Mohembo border to schedule four, so that it becomes one of the approved ports of entry to trade in plants and plant products.

This was said by the Assistant Minister of Agriculture Mr Oreeditse Molebatsi when responding to a question from the MP for Okavango, Mr Bagalatia Arone in Parliament on Thursday, March 13.

He said it has since been established that a reasonable number of clients would wish to use Mohembo border for trade in plants and plant products.

Mr Molebatsi told the House that he was aware that plants and plant products were not going through Mohembo border, because it is not gazetted for trade in plants and plant products.

He said this was in accordance with Plant Protection Act Cap 35:02, adding that Section 10 (1) of the Act provides that plants, plant products and other regulated articles must be imported into Botswana only at the approved ports of entry listed in the fourth schedule and Mohembo is not listed in the fourth schedule.

The assistant minister said when the Act was enacted volumes of crop products through entry point were considered to warrant gazettement of these entry points, but in Mohembo the volumes did not warrant the border to be gazetted.

MP Arone had asked why crop products from Namibia were not allowed to enter into Botswana through the Mohembo border. ENDS