Page 11 - issue 28 2020

News 11

“Let’s buy products made in

Botswana. If we don’t support

our own who is going to support

them?”

• PPC ‘Buy Botswana’ first ever Virtual Conference
• ‘Building together, Unlocking Community Enterprises.’

• “We have to bullishly support local business to enable them to
take on the world.”

.They came to a solution together with of the Economic Diversification Drive. Telecommunications Managing Director
Ministry of Investment, Trade and There is industrialization, poverty gave a presentation on the digitalisation
Industry Botswana and Ministry of eradication, employment creation. The of SMMES. Mr. Masunga firstly
Mineral Resources, Green Technology Strategy is in two forms, the short term acknowledged the resilient approach in
and Energy spearheaded by Botswana and long term. The strategy however Tuelo Botlhole drive to bring to fruition
Cement Manufacturers Association . is currently been reviewed. The short what he said he would seek to do during
term strategy is to leverage government his tenure at PPC.
They would buy locally inputs such as purchasing power and promote
fly ash from Morupule Colliery that will consumption and production of local He had said that he wants to support
help make sure as an industry they are made goods. Botswana businesses, according to an
sustainable. The long term idea is to interview with the Patriot newspaper
have an efficient value chain and keep To make it so efficient that locals can two years ago on his appointment as
it home as much as possible. He closed trust and buy local products. All Central Head of Botswana PPC Business Unit.
off his address by saying that the advent Government, Local Authorities and Mr Masunga said leadership must walk
of the Covid-19 pandemic thrust us into Paarastatals are required to purchase the talk about ‘Buy Botswana’ but it is
self-reliance and now we can see people locally manufactured products and not just about buying local products
with no alternative but to buy and trust services as a government directive. but building Botswana. “For me buy
our own (Botswana) products which is a Botswana is a concept we need to
good thing. The Medium and long term strategy is to pursue relentlessly so that we can raise
diversify the economy into sustainable our happiness index as a people. It’s
Ministry of Investment trade and sectors that will continue to grow as simple as that. We have to bullishly
Industry Principal Commercial Officer long after minerals have gone, grow support local business to enable them
Ellen Galetshetse gave the virtual globally competitive sectors, increase to take on the world. Our companies
viewers and attendees present an exports to available markets, produce must move from spectators to be in a
overview of the Economic Diversification international standard goods/services central state.
Drive (EDD) and she stated that it is a and eventually cultivating entrepreneur
national strategy for all of us. The EDD culture. It goes without saying that this
initiative originally is a presidential initiative will in time ultimately reduce He explained how BTC has built robust
directive from a meeting in 2010 . the import bill. infrastructure giving us 100mb/s on
4.5G network. On that note he stated
She went on to explain the deliverables Anthony Masunga the Botswana how more than ever it’s now inevitable
>> To Page 27

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