Cabinet to consider export strategy

FREDERICK KEBADIRETSE
Staff Writer | Thursday March 4, 2010 00:00

 

Presenting her ministry's consolidated and development fund estimates for the 2010/2011 to Parliament this week, the Minister of Trade and Industry Dorcas Makgato-Malesu said consultations with international co-operating partners for possible funding was underway.

Malesu told the House that finalisation of the strategy had to be delayed because of lack of expertise for which they had to engage the International Trade Centre (ITC).

The  ITC is the joint agency of the World Trade Organization and the United Nations that enables small business export success in developing and transition countries by providing, with partners, sustainable and inclusive trade development.

Minister Makgatho-Malesu also briefed the House on the National Trade Policy that was approved by cabinet last year, saying it should have been presented to Parliament in the November 2009 session but was not due to time constraints.

She said she wanted it debated during the current session. Once implemented, the policy will provide a framework for accessing markets for Botswana's exports.

On entrepreneurial development, Makgatho-Malesu said since 2007 when the Local Enterprise Authority (LEA) commenced, 7242 prospective entrepreneurs had passed the screening process for LEA pre-start and/or post-start interventions.

Of this number, 3386 were actively receiving different LEA interventions while the rest were inactive. The Minister said 45 percent of LEA's active clients were in the agricultural sector, followed by manufacturing at 23 percent, the services sector at 22 percent and 10 percent in the tourism sector.