Budget Has Nothing For US - Business Community
Chakalisa Dube | Monday February 10, 2014 15:46
'The budget does not exactly tell us how we are going to access business opportunities. If we cannot see access to opportunities in the budget it does not mean much to us,” said former District Commissioner, Sylvia Muzila, who is also a candidate for Francistown South under the Botswana Democratic Party ticket.
She advised that in future the budget should be crafted in a way that will make it clear for the business people to access business opportunities. BOCCIM member Daniel Gabalatse echoed Muzila’s statement.
“The budget in my view has to clearly indicate and highlight opportunities for the business community in the city and its surroundings,” he stated.
He added that as a matter of urgency the government should consider coming up with initiatives that could help revive the economy of Francistown.
“There was hope in the past years that the booming of mining in the city will help revive the city’s economy, but as you know, the mines are struggling now.
“The government should come up with initiatives that could help stimulate the city’s economy because the mines are currently struggling to do that,” she said.
The Francistown City Council’s Principal Economist Iye Moakofi blamed it on unfavourable economic conditions, which forced ‘the government to give priority to the completion of existing projects for the past years’. She emphasised that the business sector must come up with innovative investment ideas without much reliance on government to boost the ailing economy of the city.
The BOCCIM budget review seminar is held annually after the national budget speech is delivered. Its main purpose is to avail various economic players a chance to come together and discuss numerous aspects of the budget.