Botswana must become Africa’s diamond jewellery manufacturing hub
To facilitate trade
President Mokgweetsi Masisi says Botswana is working hard to remove cross border barriers to intra- Africa trade to liberalise markets and make African products more competitive regionally and globally.
Masisi who was speaking during the National Business Conference in Francistown said the African Continental Free Trade Area ( AfCFTA) offers a unique opportunity for investment and business growth in Botswana and across the African continent.
He stated that according to the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa ( UNECA), the Agreement is expected to boost intra – Africa trade in goods and services by up to 25 percent by 2040.
The Trade Agreement also recognises the need to build and improve the export capacity of both formal and informal services providers with particular attention to Small Medium and Micro Enterprises ( SMMEs) in which women and youth actively participate. He stated that the development of SMMEs remains pivotal to national development efforts.
“To take advantage of this opportunity, in Botswana we have invested in the development of Special Economic Zones ( SEZ) targeting particular sectors of the economy such as manufacturing, health, and other services.
“This includes the diversification of the diamond industry where we believe that as the world’s largest diamond producer by value, we should be Africa’s diamond jewellery manufacturing hub,” he told the conference.
The president explained that the theme of the Conference, “Road Map to High- income, Accelerating Transformation,” is relevant because it is inspired by National Vision 2036 which was launched in 2016 following extensive consultations with Batswana across the length and breadth of this country.
He said Vision 2036 envisages Botswana as a “high- income country with an export- led economy underpinned by diversified, inclusive and sustainable growth driven by high levels of productivity”.
Vision 2036 is anchored on four pillars, namely: Sustainable Economic Development; Human and Social Development; Sustainable Environment; and Governance, Peace and Security.
“In your role as active participants in the private sector development, I implore you to come up with ideas and strategies that would advance these pillars. We need to get the economy on a path of high economic growth to create jobs for our citizens, particularly the youth who constitute 60 percent of our population,” he said.
He added that Government continues to invest in the implementation of the cluster development initiative in an effort to diversity the economy. Currently four cluster strategies which include Beef, Small Stock, Tourism and Financial and Knowledge Intensive Services are being implemented.
“We remain committed to accelerating the attainment of our national priorities of economic growth, economic diversification and job creation,” he said.
Masisi told participants that through the Reset Agenda, Government seeks to accelerate economic development through key priorities such as value chain development, digitisation, and mind- set change.
In April 2022 Government signed into law, the Economic Inclusion Bill that seeks, among others, to promote effective participation of citizens in the economic growth and development of the economy. The law, according to the president will further facilitate the enforcement of the citizen economic empowerment initiatives.
“The Government continues to launch policy reviews and legislative reforms to improve the welfare of Batswana. I am confident that all these will be done in the spirit of removing barriers, while promoting trade and investment within and outside our borders.
“I have absolutely no doubt that we can achieve these targets if we are all united in contributing to the development of this country,” Masisi said.