Tati East Member of Parliament Samson Guma has called for the immediate closure of Local Enterprise Authority, insisting the parastatal has nothing positive to show since its inception.
Established in 2004, LEA aims to identify prospective and potential entrepreneurs, mentoring and training them to become successful business individuals amongst others. This enables youths not to be dependent on the Government for employment opportunities.
“As for LEA please close that shop. The organisation should show value. A progressive organisation should show results on the ground. I believe it is time you crack the whip Minister,” argued Guma responding to the Ministry of Trade and Industry budget proposal for 2016/17.
“You will only see them presentable at the conferences with nothing positive to show thereafter,” he said in Parliament, to the dismay of the LEA, Citizen Entrepreneurial Development Agency and Botswana Development Corporation high command.
“As for the BDC we do not know whom they are financing. We do not see BDC. These institutions should be rationalised.”
He said the only time he hears of BDC is when they are talking about the Glass project, certainly referring to the failed Palapye Glass manufacturing.
“Forget about the project. The money is water under the bridge. It is gone,” the legislator told the BDC management.
He also said just like LEA and CEDA, BDC is good at PR but poor in service delivery.
“They are only good when it comes to talking about PR ….delivery doza,” Guma concluded.
Presenting the Ministry’s budget, the Acting Minister of Trade and Industry Sadique Kebonang proposed P280 000 000 and P141 681 150 respectively for CEDA and LEA in its recurrent budget. Parliament is expected to endorse the budget next week.
