Monkagedi Gaotlhobogwe
13 November 2009
President Ian Khama was yesterday informed that the cost of doing Business in Botswana is a great cause for concern.
In his remarks at the 27th High Level Consultative Council (HLCC) held at the Fairgrounds in Gaborone, the president of the Botswana Confederation of Commerce and Manpower (BOCCIM), Modiri Mbaakanyi, said the process of licensing of businesses, registering vehicles, and acquiring BA, work and residence permits remain at the centre of obstacles that make doing business in Botswana difficult and administratively expensive.
"We are still finding long queues and on several occasions, the required stationary is not available," Mbaakanyi said.
He pointed out that even though the Trade Act and the Liquor Act have been separated to make the process simpler and more business-friendly, the result has actually been to make the process un-friendlier.On the government's recent stance to be strict with the issuance of work and residence permits, the BOCCIM president said there appears to be a move towards wholesale rejection of permits.
"We would like to plead with you, Sir, to reconsider how best this new initiative can be carried out to the best interests of both government, the private sector and the people of Botswana so that we continue to achieve our objective of attracting the right skills and the right investors," he said.
"Let us not only entice the new investors to come to our country; let us also look after those who are already here. Afterall, a bird in the hand is better than five in the bush."Mbaakanyi said that the time has come to review the way Botswana goes about attracting investors to do business in Botswana. He said the Botswana entrepreneurship Development Agency's (BEDIA) role in wooing investors ought to be reviewed and that the private sector should be capacitated to play a major role in attracting foreign investors.
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