Makgato-Malesu relishes cabinet challenges

| Friday February 19, 2010 00:00

Mmegi: With such a broad spectrum of responsibilities, briefly indicate your key focus areas as you settle into the role of the MTI Minister.

Makgato-Malesu: We are going to be driving import substitution because we believe that industries which are doing well, producing the right products at the right prices, need to be supported. We have to look at government spending in total; we cannot say we are encouraging development, finance these businesses and train their people and yet we don't give them business and instead we end up supporting briefcase people who come here, fail to create jobs and take money out. These things have to work hand in hand. We must look at the total picture of where government is going. However, those who produce also have a responsibility for the quality, quantity and pricing of their products. You cannot rip government off and these businesses will burn their fingers if they don't price well; it cannot be a one-way street.

Mmegi: Other areas of priority for you?

Makgato-Malesu: I want to change the culture of entrepreneurship among Batswana. I want us to move away from thinking that ours is small business. We have seen this mindset in people who buy from China or sell maize and other businesses; there are issues of sustainability or looking at the long term horizon.

We have to be able to play in all spheres of the economy not just go for the easy sectors; there's no gain without pain. The Competition Bill is also a priority for me. In addition, I want to reach out to the person in the street and hear what the consumers want and what we can do differently. I will also drive much stronger stakeholder engagement across the industries.

Mmegi: How will the general contraction of recurrent and development spending in the 2010/11 Budget affect the focus areas and plans you have for the Ministry?

Makgato-Malesu: The Budget contraction will affect our decentralisation programme where we wanted to take services to the people. We however, have to try and do a lot with little. We have to go back to the drawing board and see how best to go about this.

Mmegi: What is your take on the trade partnerships/ agreements Botswana presently has such as SACU, the interim EPA and AGOA? Are these benefiting Botswana's private sector and/or in what ways can these be improved?

Makgato-Malesu: One cannot ask for more when it comes to anything to do with agreements that guarantee market access. If the EU says bring your goods here quota free, that's great. The challenge is private sector capacity and what strategies to implement. In terms of SACU, I have always believed that hunting as a pack makes a lot of sense. SACU is not perfect; it works but there are also areas to improve such as tariff setting etc.

In SADC, we are looking at a Free Trade Area whose deadline was 2008, and we are almost there. We want deeper integration and we are also looking at a common customs union. There's a roadmap for that; we will also look at the bottlenecks and what can be done.

Mmegi: Related to this, there have been calls for the diversification of Botswana's export markets. What is the MTI's take on this, given last year's lessons from the recession?

Makgato-Malesu: If you look at the strategies, it was never to put all our eggs in one basket, but rather to engage emerging markets. We have also said we cannot depend on two sources of revenue for government. That's why we are focused on manufacturing, services and value addition.

Mmegi: In terms of policies, kindly comment on consumer protection.

Makgato-Malesu: I feel we have some gaps in consumer protection. We have policies and laws but maybe they don't have teeth. For someone with a complaint, the corporate has more money and resources to defend against this. This is something we have to work at. We need to empower our consumers with a stronger legal footing.

Mmegi:  Your career has reached dizzy heights from Barloworld, through BEDIA to being a Cabinet Minister responsible for the sector you are most familiar with. Is this the limit for Dorcas Makgato-Malesu?

Makgato-Malesu: I have a very low boredom threshold; I don't like doing the same thing for too long. I feel I have arrived at the epitome of corporate ladder and I'm now in something totally new. How long I'm going to be here, only time will tell because I'm still learning the cultures and I'm enjoying contributing to the broader national agenda. I think within the national agenda, there's a lot of roads that one can explore and still grow while contributing to the broader growth of this country.

Mmegi: What is your comment on perceptions that you are a darling of the private sector and the private sector's 'inside man?'

Makgato-Malesu: 'I'm really a product of the private sector because that's where I spent most of my time. I know their needs, expectations and plans. I enjoy good rapport and this makes it easy to have conversations because the field is not foreign to me. I have now joined government to be part of the process of transformation with a view to bettering the investment climate; all roads lead to that.Mmegi: Former Minister Neo Moroka was seen as being passionate about trade as a component of MTI's broad ambit. What areas of the economy are you personally passionate about?

Makgato-Malesu: I guess I share my predecessor's passion. I'm passionate about trade; if you really want to secure the market, you do it at the negotiating table. You cannot say you have negotiated well, without market access.

You also need to ensure that having done and said everything, there's fairness in all and there must be equality for everyone involved. There must be equitable distribution of resources.

I'm also passionate about investment in Botswana; I believe strongly that there's a lot of people who want to come and invest here, but it's incumbent upon us to sell this country.

We must teach Batswana that they can participate in this process. I'm also very passionate about mindset transformation of the entrepreneurial culture.

No matter what government does, if it's not in the minds of the people, it will fail. I also believe that SMMEs are the engines of economic growth and that this transformation is critical for the diversification of the economy. We want that money to stay here.