Africa-Press – Botswana. The mining industry has pledged to support local manufacturing sector to ensure its growth.
Speaking at the Local Manufacturing Summit at Gaborone International Convention Centre on August 2, Botswana Chamber of Mines Project Manager – Business Development, Mr Joseph Ramotshabi said starting from 2024 they would focus more on export-driven manufacturing.
He said they were encouraging local manufacturing entrepreneurs to venture into material goods and professional services that were currently being imported into the country.
Therefore, Mr Ramotshabi said their target as the mining industry was to attain import substitution, mentioning that already they were working with over 50 companies.
He noted that these companies had already created over 3 000 jobs in various areas.
Mr Ramotshabi reiterated that their contribution as the mining houses was to assist in the growth of the local manufacturing sector.
Notably, he said their support for the growth and sustenance of local manufacturing was through their purchasing power.
“We have decided that we will utilise our combined purchasing power to support investors who are putting up manufacturing initiatives which are dealing with addressing items currently imported,” he said.
Beyond 2024, Mr Ramotshabi said their target was to see new projects emerging from Botswana that would be export-ready and sustainably crafted.
He said they would utilise the mining sector through money spent to provide initial markets, citing that they were currently appealing to other sectors to forge ties in creating opportunities for citizens and local investors who were aggressively engaged in local manufacturing and professional services currently imported.
He said their proposition as the mining houses was reliant on the attainment of Public-Private Partnerships, as they endeavoured to create opportunities for citizens and local investors to venture into manufacturing.
Mr Ramotshabi appealed to the public, private, and local parastatals to join them and use their purchasing power to boost various value chains to support and drive local manufacturing and provision of professional services in Botswana.
He said this could only be attained through collaboration and uniting toward seeing the local manufacturing sector thrive, citing that innovation played a bigger role, especially when looking to produce export-ready products.
Research and development, therefore, were cited as key drivers to innovation which, according to Mr Ramotshabi ought to be carried out by research institutions, thereby embracing the much alluded to partnerships.
He cited their partnership with LEA, CEDA, BITC, amongst others as testament to collaborations that had over the years worked in favour of investors and uplifting of the local manufacturing sector.
Furthermore, he said commercial banks had also joined in and through the Debswana Citizen Economic Empowerment Programme pledged funds toward empowering citizens who wanted to venture in the local manufacturing space.
Meanwhile, Botswana Exporters and Manufacturers Association Chief Executive Officer, Ms Mantlha Sankoloba said procurement officers across various organisations could play a pivotal role in ensuring mindset change within the local manufacturing sector.
She said procurement officers should often ask themselves whether what they were procuring was a local product or service, adding that it was only then that efforts toward purchasing power would come to play.
She reiterated that it would be tremendous for procurement officers to endeavor to scout the local market for wanted products before importing them.
Ms Sankoloba said through policies such as the Economic Diversification Drive procurement officials were empowered to strategically source local products, thereby, growing the local manufacturing space.
She maintained that growing the sector was a choice that resided in the minds and hearts of all those given the power to account for procurement within their organisations; hence mindset change has become pivotal in resetting toward a common good.
The summit, which was held under the theme: Shaping the Future of Botswana’s Manufacturing Sector: The Road to Resilience Through Innovation, Collaboration, and Strategic Partnerships ended wednesday.
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