EDD injects P10bn into local business
Staff Writer | Thursday March 13, 2014 18:16
She told Parliament yesterday that since the inception of the Economic Diversification Drive (EDD) in 2010, a cumulative figure of P10.70 billion worth of goods and services has been recorded.
Responding to a question from the Member of Parliament for Okavango Bagalatia Arone, she said from this, P8 billion was for goods purchased from local manufacturers and service providers. The EDD policy sets to promote production and consumption of locally produced goods and services. From April to date, 898 enterprises have been issued with EDD certificates and there has been an increasing trend for recorded purchases of goods and services by government departments and parastatals, Makgatho-Malesu said. She said 723 or 80.51 percent are in the small-scale category while 112 in the medium and 63 of these certificates are in large scale.
Three competitiveness enhancing programmes under EDD, Botswana Economic Diversification and Competitiveness Programme, Tokafala Programme and the Private Sector Development Programme were launched to address enterprise capacity constraints such as poor quality of goods and services, unreliability of supplies, uncompetitive pricing and limited range of products.
The minister noted that the Private Sector Development Programme (PSDP) is jointly supported by the European Union, the Centre for Development of Enterprises, the Chanel Foundation and government. She said that it target SMME’s, Community Based Organisations and intermediary Organisations capable of making the best contribution towards the objectives of economic diversification.
“To date, 35 women entrepreneurs have been selected for sponsorship by Chanel corporate Foundation,” she said.
A list of EDD priority sectors/sub-sectors was identified by stakeholders and endorsed by the National Economic Diversification Council (NEDC) in 2011, which was followed by line ministers formulating sector development strategies that saw a total of three sector strategies on leather, dairy and textile and apparel getting developed.
She stated that under the Leather Strategy, government has approved a recommendation of P4 million for a feasibility study for setting up a Leather Park in Lobatse. “Tendering has commenced,” the minister said.
According to Makgatho-Malesu the Dairy Industry Strategy focuses on transforming the industry into a competitive and profitable industry through investment in infrastructure.
Unutilised government farms are being leased to local farmers for fodder production such as one in Morale near Mahalapye, Makgatho-Malesu revealed.
The Textile and Apparel Strategy implementation has also advanced with the sector forming an association in February 2014, she pointed out. The minister also stated that P20.2 million has been set aside to provide support for over 3,800 people in the textile and apparel sector. In 2014/15 sectors earmarked for formulation of development strategies include the transport and logistics sector given its potential as an expert sector and also as an import enabler to other sectors such as financial, horticulture livestock and primary production of crops services sectors, she said.