LOCALISATION FAILS
Foreign manufactured uniforms are flooding the northern part of the country - Francistown and Mahalapye, despite efforts to localise uniform tailoring business and grow startups.
Investigations by Botswana Export Manufacturing Association (BEMA) have uncovered ‘Made in China’ labeled school uniforms stocked in shelves. “We have secured some as samples,” said the Association in a report addressed to the Ministry of Trade and Entrepreneurship issued last week.
The Association bemoaned that its findings indicate significant compliance gaps that threaten the integrity of the school uniform import restriction policy. 'Ignoring these concerns risks undermining local manufacturing and employment,' said the report. BEMA highlighted that some foreign and local-owned factories operate as compliance fronts, sourcing uniforms externally while selling locally at uncompetitive prices.
“The school uniform manufacturing sector is critical to Botswana’s economy. Many manufacturers have operated for over three decades and employ local citizens who depend on these businesses for their livelihoods. While increased domestic and foreign investment is encouraged, it must be compliant, fair and aligned with good business practices to protect legitimate operators,” said the report. The visits were undertaken to assess sector readiness, compliance with policy directives and overall industry health following the implementation of the school uniform import restriction. BEMA has called for collaboration between the Ministry, enforcement agencies and industry stakeholders to strengthen inspections, compliance and enforcement.
In addition, BEMA has also cautioned against dumping of low standard products into the market. As part of efforts to curb the uncompetitive behaviours, the Association has proposed regular factory site visits to verify production capacity and compliance on a quarterly basis. Government has also been implored to act decisively on investigation outcomes through sanctions or corrective measures, while law enforcement and other stakeholders curb smuggling.
Despite pushing for anti-smuggling enforcement, BEMA wants the government to ensure capacity building for small and medium manufacturers (SMM) of school uniform through finance, skills development, technology and market support. BEMA has previously assured the government that local manufacturers would meet national demand without failure or disappointment. Core indications of the report is smuggling of restricted school uniforms, fronting by local citizens for non-citizens, poor quality products and overpricing and staged manufacturing sites while importing finished products.