SPEDU plans to set up land banks
Onalenna Kelebeile | Thursday March 26, 2015 18:34
SPEDU’s acting Chief Executive Officer, Montle Phuthego said that while the issue of land banks is crucial, the Ministry of Lands and the Land Boards are concerned with allocated land that is never developed and used or fully used for the purposes that it was allocated for. “We are therefore going to discuss this with them as SPEDU to assure them that we are going to develop the land for land banks. We will fully consult farmers on it,” she noted.
The agency is prioritising all projects and for facilitation purposes a land bank is needed. Land banking is the practice of aggregating parcels of land for future sale or development.
SPEDU’s projects manager, Theodore Seemule urged Land Boards to support SPEDU acquire land banks that are strategically critical to cluster projects. He added that a conjoined horticultural strategy for the region is needed to enhance products and market diversity.
Meanwhile, when giving updates towards wholesale model, produce requirements and procurement, Botswana Horticultural Market (BHM) Chief Executive Officer, Simon Miti said his organisation has the capacity to control pests hence government should give them the authority to receive all imported produce for disease prevention purposes.
He said they want to be a warehouse for all imported produce and supply all chain stores and government institutions.
“We should be custodians of the national cropping plan that coordinates production at national level to equate it to the national demand in order to eliminate gluts and shortages.
“The national strategic plan has been completed and stakeholders have been consulted,” he said. Before the BHM was started, money spent on importing fruits and vegetables amounted to P775 million annually while only 20 percent of the national demand was produced locally. “We want to bring in a diversity of technologies into the country and even start the production of crops that were never planted locally.
“We also have a plan to assist farmers with a conducive and inclusive trading environment and we work with Botswana Bureau of Standards (BOBS) to ensure quality of products,” he explained. The CEO also mentioned that they also want to tap into the international market as the country has a geographical advantage and would use modes like the coming Kazungula Bridge.
The market authority took the overall trading functions in November 2004 and Miti said the authority would continue to trade under the commission system, but with a reduced market commission of 10 percent instead of 12.5 percent. Town Mayor, Amogelang Mojuta said Selebi-Phikwe Town Council (SPTC) is committed to be a partner in the execution of the horticulture project, but said this commitment should be action-orientated to ensure that policies are geared towards the growth of free trade and investment in the SPEDU region.