SA’s Pandor calls for tourism revival
South Africa’s Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Dr. Grace Naledi Pandor has implored the business community to proactively revive tourism from the doldrums. Speaking at the first private sector led business forum between Botswana and South Africa, Pandor said tourism was hit hard in both countries due to the COVID- 19 pandemic. “And together, we need to develop sustainable strategies to revitalise the tourism industry,” said Dr. Pandor. The call comes as the private sector in Botswana and South Africa have been challenged to openly discuss trade and investment opportunities so as to harness existing opportunities between them. Mmusi Kgafela, Botswana’s Minister of Trade and Industry, urged the business community to strengthen trade and investment relations. The two countries’ private sector have organised the first business forum seeking to explore modalities to leverage trade and investment opportunities. Pandor also highlighted that the two countries share a special relationship as neighbours in a region that fought a common struggle against colonialism and oppression. She further beseeched the business community to explore cooperation in mining and minerals beneficiation, which are key pillars of Botswana and South Africa’s industrialisation policy.
The two- day business forum has been facilitated by Botswana Investment and Trade Centre ( BITC) together with the Department of Trade and Industry ( DTI) of South Africa zoomed on key sectors such as agriculture, mining and mineral beneficiation, light industry and automotive component manufacturing. Kgafela said the forum is one of the outcomes of the 5th Bi- National Commission where the two countries’ heads of state realised the need for the private sector of both countries to engage on issues relating to trade and investment. “We will also look at ways to enhance automotive component manufacturing that will contribute to job creation in our respective countries,” said Kgafela. Meanwhile, Pandor is optimistic that both Botswana and South Africa will benefit from an agricultural exchange, considering Botswana has abundant fertile land, yet it imports a lot of the food it consumes.
“This is a trend across much of the continent which we can work together to address so that we can produce more of what we require without importing from beyond our shores.
Through economic discussions, we could further investigate the production of animal feed, fruit processing, as well as vegetable and fertilizer production,” said Pandor. Currently, South African exports to Botswana were R64.4 billion last year, and South Africa remains Botswana’s number one source of imports, while Botswana is South Africa’s 7th largest export market.