Baboki Kayawe
9 November 2009
A senior government official has urged Small Medium and Micro Enterprises (SMME) to build productivity systems into their management so that they can compete internationally.
Acting Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Trade and Industry, Bonniface Mphetlhe told SMMEs that unless their development strategies are rooted in productivity, growth and sustainability will not be easy to achieve.
He said enterprises the world over depend on effectiveness and innovativeness to attain economic growth, sustainability and prosperity. He was speaking at a stakeholder forum for SMMEs productivity and personal effectiveness hosted by the Botswana National Productivity Centre (BNPC) last Friday.
He said that though SMMES usually lag behind in productivity, both in Botswana and internationally, this does not mean they cannot be productive.
He said despite challenges they face like lower managerial capacity and the resultant reduced ability to compete, SMMEs should try their best to utilise the few capital resources they have to be more productive. "Firms need skilled workers to embrace new production methods and to get the best use of technological investments, and SMMEs may find themselves located towards the low end of a productivity, wage and skill scale," he said.
Mphetlhe urged BNPC to work on a capacity building programme to create productive enterprises. He said the government will continue working on provision of a conducive environment to doing business through the review of trade an industrial development laws.
He added that in its effort to design a productive enterprise, BNPC should build on the strengths of other role players so that the productive enterprise is a collaborative effort with Local Enterprise Authority, Citizen Entrepreneurship Development Agency and other important players in the SMME industry.
The forum is aimed at sharing and discussing the BNPC mandate on SMMEs, and how the centre's productivity and improvement tools could assist the enterprises in the context of their challenges; particularly business growth, distress and rehabilitation.
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