Botswana: The Minister of Trade and Industry, Mmusi Kgafela, has urged the private sector to consider challenges hindering industrialization as well as consider possible opportunities that can assist the government in seeing industrial growth in the economy.
Officiating at the Business Networking Forum held at the ongoing 27th Business Botswana Northern Trade Fair 2023 in Francistown, Minister Kgafela said the government had placed industrialization, value addition and beneficiation at the core of Botswana’s structural agenda.
“I wish to emphasize that beneficiation or value addition is a crucial element in the industrialization drive. We each need to look at what is abundant around ourselves and see how that could be beneficiated,” he said.
Minister Kgafela also highlighted that the role that state owned enterprises play in the economy, finding solutions towards economic growth, is an impetus to the beneficiation drive, which is one of the government’s priority areas on Excellency’s Reset Agenda.
This year’s Business Forum was held under the theme “Accelerating Industrialization through Beneficiation Value Chain”, which Minister Kgafela said truly aligned with the aspirations of the Government.
He said since Botswana’s independence, and industrialization has always been considered a key stimulant to economic growth, development, and poverty reduction.
“This year’s theme does not only speak to my Ministry’s mandate, but it also talks to all in Government and the private sector. The Industrial Development Policy of 2014, which is housed under my Ministry, does recognize beneficiation as one of the forms in which we can industrialize,” he added.
People of the country are somehow confused as they are currently worried about “If the government can reduce import duty for some manufacturing raw materials. It will help to reduce the cost of production.”
