Ministry not aggressive in attracting FDI-PAC
Keikantse Lesemela | Friday June 6, 2014 16:06
Assessing the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) on Wednesday, MP for Kgatleng East Isaac Mabiletsa said, “We can see the efforts but what proof can you show that this is the result of your efforts in bringing FDI into the country”.
MP for Selebi Phikwe West, Gilson Saleshando said although the ministry is trying to bring foreign investors, the country does not have the right assets for competition.
“The ministry is not working hard enough in improving FDI, even though we can be placed in better ranks than other countries we have nothing to show, because we lack requisite assets, we don’t have skills, infrastructure and technology,” said Saleshando.
MP for Tonota North Fidelis Molao said the ministry does not have strict rules in regulating the playing field for business competition against foreign investors in Botswana.
“When we look at the franchised businesses we will find that mostly it is the franchiser who benefit a lot, I wonder where the Competition Authority is,” said Molao.
The Permanent Secretary in MTI, Banny Molosiwa, however insisted that the ministry is working hard to create a platform that would make Botswana an investor friendly country. “We are working hard to make Botswana an investor friendly country. When we go out to look for investors we are targeting the viable businesses that can benefit the country, and we do not just get them quickly because they take their time to assess the environment,” said Molosiwa.
She explained that the ministry is continually looking for ways in which investors can be attracted to the country, as the country does not have access to the sea. “We have looked at Botswana as a land surrounded country, not land locked, so we are using this advantage by partnering with neighbouring countries to access the sea,” she said.
Molosiwa stated that the ministry does not have strict regulations and laws on FDI because they do not want to scare off investors. “The constitution ensures that Batswana benefit first but we do not want to impose laws on foreign investors because we do not want to close the business environment for them,” said Molosiwa.
Earlier this year Botswana Investment and Trade Centre launched the Business Facilitation Services Centre to assist and facilitate easier access to services without going from one Government office to the other. This week, US-based Foreign Policy magazine rated Botswana the best destination in the world for foreign investors. The evaluation was done in 112 countries. In the 2014 Baseline Profitability Index (BPI), Botswana’s value was 1.31, followed by Hong Kong with 1.22 and Taiwan’s BPI with 1.2. Last year Botswana came in second to Hong Kong in the survey.
The BPI report, presented by economist Daniel Altman, assessed eight factors, which include economic growth, financial stability, physical security, corruption, expropriation by government, exploitation by local partners, capital controls, and exchange rates - to determine the investment value of an economy based on the security and rate of return on investment.