Gov’t eyes greater non-mineral exports

Trade Minister, Tiroeaone Ntsima, told this publication that the government has prioritised certain areas that have potential to boost the export sector, which include the hemp industry, base metal processing, development of Special Economic Zones (SEZ), energy exports, and revamping of the International Financial Services Centre. “Our non-mineral exports are not currently at the desired level as diamonds continue to dominate export revenue,” he said in an interview recently in Algiers, Algeria.

The Minister led the Botswana delegation to the recently ended Intra-African Trade Fair. Ntsima’s comments come in the wake of recent Statistics Botswana figures, which revealed that in the midst of the prolonged diamond downturn, non-mining sectors have helped restrain the contraction in the economy.