BOTC engages S/Phikwe businesses

Botswana Trade Commission (BOTC) Chairman, Dr Howard Sigwele has called on the Selibe Phikwe businessmen community to always declare the real price of their imported goods, saying failure to do so is a matter of denying the country critical revenue.

Dr Sigwele was addressing members of the business community in Selibe Phikwe last week during a consultative workshop organised by the leadership of the organization. He warned that failure to state the right price could also be prejudice local producers or suppliers through unfair and uncompetitive behaviour.

He said BOTC is going to monitor the behaviour of the business community, adding that the mandate of the organisation is to ensure fair, transparent, equitable trade that is compliant with Southern African Customs Union (SACU), SADC and the World Trade Organization (WTO) provisions.

Dr Sigwele pointed out that Botswana’s ambition to become a high-income country by the year 2036 commands that trade must play a major role. That role, he said, is going to be done through exports as well as ensuring that external markets have import tariff and no-tariff measures that allow local products to enter as freely as possible with minimum challenges.

He said in order for BOTC to achieve its mandate and ensure that trade continues to play an increasing role in our economy, key stakeholders such as the private sector, farmers and NGOs need to be actively engaged. Such engagement will be done for the purpose of giving the stakeholders an opportunity to share new ideas, suggestions and even assist in monitoring and evaluating the performance of BOTC. “These consultative workshops are planned to achieve these objectives, he said.

During their tour of Selibe Phikwe, the BOTC leadership visited the Bulb World and Sirocco Chemical Solutions. Both companies said they are ready to export their products.  [Newsbureau]