Butale Calls for Citizenship Extension To Foreigners
Goitsemodimo Kaelo | Monday October 14, 2019 10:46
Butale, who was representing BPF during the Presidential debate organised by Botswana Council of Non-Governmental Organisations (BOCONGO) on Friday, also said the country could be a net exporter of goods and services but that should start with allowing a targeted immigration.
He was debating alongside Alliance for Progressives (AP) president, Ndaba Gaolathe while the ruling party’s Mokgweetsi Masisi and Umbrella for Democratic Change’s Duma Boko did not participate in the debate.
“It’s true Botswana has a small population with two million people. It’s like a medium-sized city but all countries that have moved forward be it America, UAE, Singapore, Australia and Canada have achieved that by allowing targeted immigration,” he said.
He conceded that Botswana’s population is a stumbling block for it to be considered a ‘serious player’ in exporting goods and services. He said currently there is no pool of expertise to grow the economy.
He stated that the current trade agreements such as AGOA have not been fully utilised, adding that the ruling party have been concerned about managing diamonds. Butale said Botswana could use the Southern African Customs Union (SACU) to propel its economy to greater heights.
“But the leadership is happy to receive the remittance from SACU and allow South Africa to dictate the terms,” he said.
For his part AP president, Gaolathe, also said the country’s economic fortunes depend on exports. He indicated that there is need to build capacity and infrastructure before producing goods and services for export.
“That is why at the heart of our approach as the AP, we have identified sectors that we believe have potential for export. We need deliberate government intervention to grow these sectors. One of those sectors is culture,” he said.
“Our musicians, our artists, our creative industry has tremendous potential. But we have to do is to ensure that they are well packaged and build infrastructure like the Btv so that it becomes international and has a billion pula budget to finance this industry.”
He said Botswana must collaborate with other African countries in terms of building infrastructure to facilitate trade and investments with them.