SEZA headlines Ghanzi show
Special Economic Zones Authority ( SEZA) is one of the headline sponsors of the prestigious Ghanzi Show, which is currently taking place in Ghanzi, a township some 1000 kilometers from the capital city Gaborone.
Established in 1974, the Ghanzi District Show attracts between 3000 to 5000 people daily on the last two days of the event, and over 300 Exhibitors from both government and private institutions.
The show, which started this Monday and will end on the 30th of July 2022, is arguably the biggest agricultural show in the country.
According to SEZA Chief Executive Officer ( CEO) Lonely Mogara, the Authority found it fit to sponsor the Ghanzi Show mainly because the Ghanzi township is key to the development of the agricultural sector in
Botswana.
Mogara is buoyant SEZA’s investment in the show will go a long way in unlocking more value in the region.
“We are tasked with developing key sector of the economy as a way of boosting economic development and employment creation.
We intend to boost agro- production in the Ghanzi district because it is a key feeder to the Lobatse Special Economic Zone. Ghanzi is the hub of cattle production in Botswana,” said Mogara, the chief architect of the country’s SEZSs policy.
SEZA has zoned Lobatse as a meat and leather city at which key economic activities will include canning, food processing, manufacturing of leather products as well as dairy production.
“Meat and leather, the key ingredients needed to ensure the success of Lobatse SEZ, are mostly found in Ghanzi. That is why the cattle industry in Ghanzi is very key to economic development,” he said.
According to the 2015 agro- production census, at 3.9percent, Ghanzi is the national beef production centre.
SEZA perceives Ghanzi as a livestock cluster under the Lobatse SEZ; with potential to supply meat, milk and leather for processing and further beneficiation. SEZA has undertaken to work closely with the Ministry of Agriculture to ensure that support programs like LIMID and ISPAAD are fully utilised to increase output and support the Lobatse meat and leather city.
SEZ is among others, tasked with positioning Botswana as an attractive investment destination by creating a conducive environment for Domestic and Foreign Direct Investment.
SEZA would do so by removing barriers to trade at its SEZs and offering investors a conducive environment where they could do business freely and seamlessly; unencumbered by bureaucracy and red tape.