280 CEDA projects cost P209m - Seretse

Lekopanye Mooketsi
Correspondent | Tuesday March 6, 2012 00:00

Submitting budget proposals for his ministry recently, the Acting Minister of Trade and Industry, Vincent Seretse, said the agricultural sector had 134 projects financed at P107 million, the service sector 101 projects financed at P52 million while the property and manufacturing sectors had 45 projects financed at P49 million.   The investment has generated 1.693 jobs in the sectors covered. In spite of difficult global economic conditions, the Botswana Export Development and Investment Authority (BEDIA) generated investment inflows of P1 billion  or 2,041 jobs as at the end of December 2011, Seretse 'A comparison of this financial year and that of 2010/2011 shows that combined capital investments have so far increased by P467 million and will continue during the last quarter of this financial year,' he said. Between April and December last year, the Ministry of Trade and Industry generated exports amounting to P242 million through BEDIA.  The biggest contributors were salt, meat products, pvc pipes, tobacco extracts and wheat products. 

Seretse told the House that BEDIA had contracted German company Senior Experten Service to train local manufacturing companies under BEDIA's export development Programme that was aimed at designing market entry strategies.

He said BEDIA's public education campaign that was launched in November 2010 for educating Batswana about the Botswana Brand had so far covered over 104 villages and was continuing. The nationwide campaign is aimed at galvanising Batswana around a single identity and instilling a sense of pride in them.

Seretse said the international application process for the use of the pride mark that was logged through the World Intellectual Property Organisation in 2010 was still ongoing.  'The World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) has since acknowledged registration and has published our request in WIPO Gazette,' he disclosed.  A successful application will allow for the use of the mark in marketing and creating awareness on Botswana globally.'

Meanwhile, Seretse informed the House that the Botswana International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) continued to proactively promote Botswana as a suitable regional gateway for financial and business services. He said total aggregated capital investment by IFSC companies across the African continent stood at P10 billion at the end of March 2011.

The Local Enterprise Authority (LEA) continued to provide its range of business support services and had 1,174 active clients, 539 of which were existing businesses, 238 were start-up businesses while 397 were pre-start up businesses, Seretse said. Of these, 699 were in the agriculture sector, 272 in manufacturing, 149 in the services sector and 96 in the tourism sector. Parliament was also told that the Botswana Bureau of Standards (BOBS) had made notable progress in certification of goods. Seretse said 119 standards were approved in the 2010/11 financial year covering information technology, household and farming equipment, quality systems and guidance of fire risk assessment, among others.