Parliament Defers Transportation Motion
Pini Bothoko | Monday February 24, 2020 16:08
Member of Parliament (MP) tabled the motion for Kanye North, Thapelo Letsholo. He had called on Parliament to resolve that the local distribution, courier and transportation of goods in Botswana be reserved for 100% citizen owned companies.
Yet another proposal was that all foreign transport and courier companies be only allowed a single goods drop off once they arrive in Botswana.
Debating the motion before it was deferred, MP for Serowe South, Tshekedi Khama said even though he supports the motion, he was of the view that there were issues that should be looked at so that it can further benefit Batswana.
He agreed with the proposal that some destinations in Botswana can be serviced by local transporters, but that should not be done at the cost of efficiency.
“When an item is brought from point A and goes to point C if it has changed carriage along the way the costs are going to escalate, which means those commodities will then add a value and make it expensive in Botswana and we will therefore be less competitive,” Khama argued.
Khama said Letsholo tabled a good motion, but his worry was that if it was adopted, Batswana may not benefit from it since they have not been fully empowered.
“When coming up with an idea it is important to establish how best it can benefit Batswana. There is a truck stop being considered at the Kazungula Bridge, we spoke about it seven months ago and to date we are still talking about it,” Khama said.
“But the Zambians have already started its construction. Where is the initiative from those that hold the authorities of the land to enable Batswana to do so, goods are coming into Botswana but we are failing to empower our people.”
Khama added that of recent garages have closed as the industry came to a screeching halt and Batswana who were employed there are now jobless.
Sharing similar sentiments, Francistown West MP, Ignatius Moswaane said there are no vehicles that come from South Africa that can be given a local permit for goods.
The motion was deferred for further discussion as per the suggestion from the Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry Peggy Serame.