Mahalapye cooking oil dream dies
Mbongeni Mguni | Tuesday February 14, 2023 06:00
Christopher Nakabale told BusinessMonitor that despite promises made at top government level to support local manufacturing, Lupro had failed to secure any business over the years, while debts and running costs were piling up. Lupro, a wholly citizen-owned business, purchases sunflower seed from the Botswana Agricultural Marketing Board (BAMB), presses, refines and packages this into sunflower oil. The Mahalapye factory is capable of producing 30,000 litres per week. While the sunflower oil company has squeezed into shop shelves in the country’s retail sector over the years, securing government supply contracts, such as those for schools and clinics, was required to keep it afloat. “I’m selling my factory because what’s the point,” Nakabale said on Thursday. “I have been to all the government structures, all the way to the Ministry of Finance and I have not received any help. “I have been everywhere in government and I have said I’m not asking for more money. “I just want access to what you are spending in South Africa.” Nakabale alleged that over the years, government supply contracts were frequently given to preferred bidders who were politically connected.
This, he said, was even done when the bidders were not producers but local companies importing from outside the country. “I suspect tenders are pre-awarded and they only come to us when they are in trouble. “They have their preferred suppliers and when these let them down, they come to us. “I’m in Mahalapye, but I don’t supply the schools here even though the Ministry of Local Government permanent secretary directed them to give us manufacturers the preference.” The businessman said Lupro once came close to securing a lucrative supply contract with government but was again foiled by bureaucracy. “The Ministry of Local Government gave me a tender to supply and I said please adjust your prices because the inputs have gone up,” he said. “BAMB had doubled the prices of sunflower and I showed the council and said please give us a commensurate increase. “I instead found myself caught between two related government entities and I was supposed to produce and supply at a loss. “They said to produce it below cost and I said how?” Lupro’s troubles come at a time when government is considering restricting the importation of cooking oil. The ministries of Agriculture and Entrepreneurship have confirmed that they are analysing local sunflower and safflower production, value chains and distribution lines, to possibly restrict cooking oil imports. In addition, this week, Finance ministry documents released as part of the 2023–24 budget indicate that under the value addition priority, government intends to build a sunflower refinery plant. The value addition priority has been given a provisional P541 million budget and also includes other value addition initiatives such as those in minerals and agriculture. “We have been producing for 12 years and what government is proposing now, we have been proposing for the past 12 years,” Nakabale told BusinessMonitor.
“We even showed them all the linkages and how it would create employment, as well as the value chain. “I have talked to everyone and they seem to be paralysed. “Government says one thing and does something else.” The businessman added: “We are losing opportunities through decisions made by bureaucrats who have no clue what we are doing. Instead of saying they don’t know, they say ‘let's sit on it.’” Nakabale said he was still willing to continue with sunflower oil production, should government come on board with its support. “The farmers in Pandamatenga can produce all the sunflower the country will ever need but because there are no off takers locally, they will sell it to South Africa, from where it comes back as sunflower oil. “I can still produce. Give me something. I was doing this for 12 years. “However, I have said I’m old enough and I cannot keep on. “Those who are politically connected, let them take those tenders.” Efforts to contact the Ministry of Local Government were unsuccessful by press time. However, speaking to farmers last week, Assistant Agriculture minister, Molebatsi Molebatsi said the Economic Inclusion Act includes clauses that, in certain cases, allow local manufacturers to sue government if it overlooks them in favour of imported products. “We had local procurement as a policy, but to make sure that it is effective and that all levels of government adhere to it, we decided to put in the law so that as farmers, as producers, you can say ‘here is the law and you are violating it,’” he said.
Meanwhile, the Minister of Entrepreneurship Karabo Gare this week said value addition was part of his priorities, as the new ministry kicks off its activities. “We believe there are a lot of opportunities in value addition, such as when you look at the food imports coming through our borders each year which are about P10 billion,” he said at First National Bank Botswana post-budget review on Tuesday evening. “You will realise that as citizens we have competent farmers and programmes in place to produce raw materials like beef. “We should be able to add value and reduce our imports and create employment locally.”