Mokgethi calls for women friendly laws in business
Government has been urged to develop and implement policies and legal frameworks targeted at bolstering and protecting the economic participation of women in Botswana and to ensure they are economically empowered.
Minister of Immigration and Gender Affairs Annah Mokgethi said the participatory field is not level in the economic landscape, adding that women in Botswana are still lagging behind in terms of participation in business and trade, not necessarily because they don’t have the ability and acumen to engage and participate in economic activity, but rather because they lack technical assistance and support.
Speaking at the official opening of the Women in Trade National Consultations in Botswana held in Gaborone this week, Mokgethi said that as it stands, Batswana women could be empowered to benefit from various economic initiatives including the African Continental Free Trade Area ( AfCFTA) which was put into effect in Botswana beginning of the year.
AfCFTA has committed to assisting Governments and private sector across Africa to capacitate women in business, unlock their potential in order to evolve from managing micro, to macro businesses.
Women in Trade National consultation in Botswana was a collaborative meet between United Nations ( UN) Resident Coordinator’s office and UN Women.
United Nations Development agency ( UNDP) Botswana resident representative Jacinta Barrins noted that the UNDP and UN Women offices in Botswana are currently engaging women from across Africa to collect findings on the challenges that they face and the nature of support that could be put in place to ease their environment of doing business.
“The national consultations that are being carried out are an important element in ensuring that there is sufficient and impactful data that will have a crucial element in ensuring that the Women in Trade protocol is participatory, inclusive and responsive to the needs of women”.
In March this year, AfCFTA Secretariat and UNDP signed a strategic partnership to promote trade as a stimulus for Africa’s socio- economic recovery post Covid19. Both parties indicated that this would be a driver of sustainable development, particularly for women and youth, in line with the Sustainable Development Goals and Agenda 2063.
AfCFTA Secretary General Wamkele Mene told media that AfCFTA is beyond a trade and liberalising instrument, as it is also an enabler of inclusive growth and sustainable development. “It is imperative to rebalance Africa’s role in global trade.
As African countries implement their post Covid- 19 recovery plans, the strategic collaboration with UNDP will drive momentum on the ground, to ensure that women and youth are leading beneficiaries.”
About US3million was pledged for this initiative, which will be used to ensure that AfCFTA continues its role as a development enabler and accelerator that “can move Africa beyond Covid- 19 recovery, and in the long- term, contribute to the creation of stronger and more resilient and inclusive green economies characterised by rising incomes, balanced trade and better returns from Africa’s natural resources.”
The cycle of poverty and inequality in Africa has greatly negatively impacted on the quality of life of many women on the continent, and as part of its mandate, AfCFTA will expand the business prospects of women. The Agreement is to help build and improve the export capacity of both formal and informal service suppliers, with particular priority on micro, small and medium size enterprises, in which both women and youth can actively participate in.
“AfCFTA Protocols on Trade in Goods, Trade in Services, Investment, Intellectual Property Rights and Competition policy, provide clear guidelines to ensure that emerging enterprises and infant industries are protected, thus adding impetus to the Agenda 2063 Goals of gender equality, women empowerment and youth development.”