Batshu encourages entrepreneurship
Lindiwe Mozola | Wednesday April 22, 2015 13:27
Batshu was speaking at the Nortex long service awards ceremony held recently. He said that it is without doubt that the ability of the workers to stay in one place for a long time in itself is an expression that they are happy in their areas of work and on the other hand an expression of trust and commitment by the employees to their employers.
“If the skills are transferred to someone they should use those skills to advance and become their own boss by so doing creating employment and diversifying the economy of Botswana,” he said.
Batshu further noted that Batswana should challenge the mindset that they are lazy, cannot think outside the box and want to be spoon-fed.
He also appreciated the contribution by Nortex, which continues to employ more local staff compared to expatriates. He noted that when the company started operations it had a higher number of expatriates and to date locals have gradually taken over some of the positions.
“I have been told that to date the company has 458 employees of whom only 20 are expatriates. I must also appreciate the ethic of the expatriate staff members, who have patiently continued to teach locals the necessary skills,” he said.
Batshu also urged locals to exert themselves to acquire competitive skills to avoid later claiming that foreigners rob them of their jobs.
Batshu congratulated 102 Nortex employees who received long service awards, adding that rewarding for a good job brings hope to the employees. He noted that it also motivates other employees to appreciate that success is a process and that hard work pays and loyalty rewards.
Mukesh Josh the managing director of Nortex, agreed with the Minister’s words, when he stated that Nortex would not where it is today, if it were not for the employees’ loyalty, who needed to be rewarded without doubt.
He also said that despite good business environment over the years, challenging times have always stuck. Josh added that they had managed to overcome those factors, and continued to be rated as the leading textile industry in southern Africa.