Patricia Maganu
12 September 2008
Francistown — The Vice President Mompati Merafhe has commended the Botswana private sector for collaborating with the government in its commitment to develop the country.
At a dinner organised by First National Bank of Botswana (FNBB) during the 10th National Business Conference (NBC) in Botswana's second city, Merafhe said the attendance of the dinner itself and the rest of the conference indicated a serious government and private sector commitment to forge a closer collaboration in the development of Botswana.
The Vice President said a combination of bravery, visionary leadership, fortitude, husbandry of mineral revenues and foreign exchange, among other factors, had brought the country where it is today.
"(This is) an upper middle income country with a private sector that we can proudly call a partner in development," he said.
But it was critical for the government and the private sector to recognise their separate roles and exploit their synergies in order to realise Botswana's national development goals.
"This dialogue and many other collaborative mechanisms that exist between Government and the private sector will surely continue to facilitate an exchange and sharing of ideas, as we all work towards the development of this country," he said.
Without a vibrant sector committed to the national agenda for sustainable economic growth and development, efforts to diversify the economy, create employment and fight poverty would be seriously undermined.
"In this interdependent world, our ability to compete globally will depend on the vibrancy of our private sector in different areas such as manufacturing, financial services, tourism and many others that have (the) potential to give Botswana a competitive edge," Merafhe said.
In order for the government and the private sector to succeed in setting and realising an agenda for sustainable economic growth, the partnership had to be based on good business practice, mutual trust and respect for the law - including labour and immigration laws of the country, the Vice President said.
He told his audience that in trying to bring investors to Botswana, the government was currently simplifying procedures for applying and for the granting of work and residence permits, as well as for enabling companies that required skills not locally available to source them from outside without undue red tape.
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