Government, business identify hurdles to EDD

A good work ethic and improved standards have been identified as playing a critical role in attracting foreign investors. This emerged at a meeting organised by the Ministry of Trade and Industry for the business community of Francistown at Cresta Marang Garden.

The meeting held this week’s main objective was to examine the symbiotic relationship between the government and the private sector. The meeting also sought to identify impediments to Botswana’s efforts at economic diversification. “This is the moment for us to fully (examine) these issues, especially looking at the challenges of soaring unemployment,” said the Minister of Trade and Industry, Vincent Seretse.

He said engagement between government and business helps in ironing out issues towards a conducive environment for the business community to operate in. Economic Diversification Drive (EDD) is an initiative by which the government promotes the growth of a vibrant and globally competitive private sector in Botswana so that it ceases to be a mono-culture diamond economy.

Queries and comments pointed out the difficulty of accessing tender documents because of too much centralization in Gaborone. Minister Seretse said the existing situation should soon be a thing of the past as Francistown has now been classified as an important economic zone that is to be transformed into a world-class investment area.