SPEDU struggles to reach targets
Low procurement rate in the region blamed ‘ Government needs to walk the talk’
Selibe Phikwe Economic Diversification Unit ( SPEDU) Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Mokubung Mokubung has disclosed that some companies which failed to progress under SPEDU were hindered by lack of support from government.
Among these companies is Almaz Computers, which is a citizen youth, owned company, which specialises in assembling of computers, tablets and other electronic devices. Appearing before the Parliamentary Oversight Committee on State Owned Enterprises, Dr Mokubung explained that the company registered under SPEDU with its own business strategy and SPEDU was supposed to assist with the 30 percent off take agreement which is a government initiative under the Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Board ( PPADB) Act. “This company had its own business strategy. When it joined SPEDU there was an expectation that they will be awarded a government tender to supply schools with computers and tablets but somehow it did not win the tender and this 30 percent offtake agreed with government took a long time to be implemented.”
SPEDU is currently involved with 53 companies in Selibe Phikwe and Tswapong region, which are at different stages of development but currently 29 companies are operational, out of which 16 have been issued with tax incentives. SPEDU has created
about 2000 jobs to date against the target of 7000. However, he highlighted that they are continually working on assisting all these companies. “Almaz had tax incentives but it did not win the tender. Currently, they have partnered with another company in Zambia. Meanwhile, our work is just to facilitate investment.”
Another company, which faced operational challenges, is Pula Dynes, a pharmaceutical distribution firm. Dr Mokubung explained that they had disagreements with the Ministry of Health and Wellness as they indicated that the EDD clause does not bind them to purchase from these companies.
“The problem is in the PPADB Act. It should be reviewed,”
When the economic revitalization strategy of SPEDU region was formulated in 2017 it was calculated that the expected investment would be P2, 2 billion up to March 2020 with the expected level employment of 7000.
However, Mokubung pointed out that most companies are not performing well because of low procurement in the region. “We need to go back to the drawing board and review our work and see how we can improve our performance because we have not yet achieved even 50 percent of our target,” he said.