There have been mixed reactions to the government of Botswana’s decision to reserve more businesses for citizens.
We urge Botswana Government to be steadfast in its efforts to nurture citizen participation in business.
That can only be done by taking citizens by hand, through positive discrimination.
We hear that general clothing, hair and beauty parlours, internet and copy shop licences will now be the preserve of citizens.
On this note, we hail the move as a welcome development which we believe will go a long way in citizen economic empowerment.
Those who have been affected by this regulation are crying foul, accusing government of stifling competition.
But the reality is that government has an obligation to protect and nurture citizen investors.
This is especially so because Botswana is a comparatively small and developing economy which needs to protect its citizens and ensure that they grow to become big and sustainable businesses that can compete globally.
The sad reality is that the majority of businesses that were originally preserved for citizens have since found their way into the hands of non-citizens.
This has undermined the efforts to economically empower citizens.
As in many other instances the culprits are citizens themselves, who after acquiring the licenses tend to sell them to non-citizens.
Citizens found to be selling or hiring out these licenses to non-citizens should be stripped of the privilege, and have the rights moved to other more deserving Batswana.
The situation in Botswana is that today we have foreigners owning beauty parlours and internet cafes.
We certainly cannot seriously call that foreign investment, just because it happens to be in the hands of foreigners.
Foreign investments have to be of high quality.
Such investments also have to help in improving the skills of citizens through skills transfer.
The problem that Botswana faces today is that thousands of unemployed youth who were funded by government to start small businesses have been crowded out of the market.
Such should not be the case, especially when the said youth are also expected to pay back the loans they received from Government agencies.
Let small businesses like salons, butcheries and bottle stores be the preserve of citizens.
Because of the Reservation Policy and the Policy on Protection of Infant Industries, Botswana has been accused of impeding implementation of the competition regime. Detractors have questioned Botswana’s attitude towards foreign investment, and entry and growth of foreign firms.
That is not correct.
The world over, Governments have an obligation to economically empower citizens and make sure they are brought into the mainstream of the economies.
How then can Botswana Government be fairly accused of xenophobia when she empowers her citizens?
The recent setting up of the Competition Commission is proof enough of Botswana’s commitment to enhancing positive competition.
Through the Competition Commission, Government has gone full length to demonstrate its faith not only in the private sector but also in fair competition.
There is no point in pouring millions into local businesses and doing nothing to assist them.
They have to be protected and nurtured until they are strong enough to hold their own against those of the other countries.
We are a young nation, and it is imperative that we mentor and monitor our budding entrepreneurs and grow them to become successful entrepreneurs.
The onus is also upon Batswana to work hard. It does not help for government to risk international disrepute by making laws that multinational companies consider anti-competition, only for Batswana not to take up the resultant opportunities.
