BOCCIM against civil servants entrepreneurship
Onalenna Kelebeile | Tuesday August 4, 2015 15:41
Speaking at the Mmadinare Agricultural Show over the weekend Mosienyane said he is strongly opposed to the idea of allowing active civil servants to go into business.
He said this is a bad idea because it would allow them to be players and referees at the same time.
He added that the idea would simply lead to tender rigging and outright corruption.
“We already have enough problems with corruption and there is no need to worsen the situation. Our view is that civil servants who wish to run businesses should leave the civil service first and compete fairly with other players,” he added.
He called on government to consider creating a level playing field urgently between government and the private sector in regulating prices in view of the drought that has been declared. He said the private sector was left out when government declared a drought year and said the price support will be offered through government-owned Livestock Advisory Centres, while private livestock feed retailers have been left out.
“It is my view that a level playing field must be created as a matter of urgency,” he noted.
Mosienyane said that in order to improve the productivity of the competitiveness of the agricultural sector, it is imperative to implement the fencing policy to allow cattle farmers to control the quality of their beef.
He said government approved the fencing policy in 1991, but to date it has not been implemented because of lack of political will.
“I take this opportunity to call all of us to do the right thing and introduce fencing in the interest of an internationally competitive livestock sector,” he added.
Mosienyane also said that one of the biggest problems that livestock farmers face is the incidence of measles and said this undermines exports. He added that Botswana Meat Commission (BMC) has also raised alarm about the risk that measles poses to the beef industry.
With respect to crop production, Mosienyane expressed concern over late payment of tractor owners contracted by government under the ISPAAD scheme resulting in the tractor owners experiencing cash flow problems.
“It is therefore urgent to ensure that tractor owners are paid in time, especially that they are now preparing for the next ploughing season,” he noted. He also said the ISPAAD incentive scheme for horticulture offers generous support of 60 percent to groups as opposed to 40 percent for individuals.
He said this is unnecessary and counterproductive because it forces individuals to join collectives even though there is no empirical evidence to support the notion that groups fare better than individual farmers.
“We need to reform this policy so that individual farmers who do not wish to participate in collective schemes are not penalised,” he said.
He added that the show presented a golden opportunity to promote crops and livestock of the highest quality that should be targeted towards the export market.
He said Business Botswana believes that a rapid expansion of the private sector is essential to achieve desirable economic growth.
Mosienyane said this country has no choice but to pursue an open export orientated economy with a flourishing agricultural sector to lift Batswana out of poverty.
“This requires us to continue to support the private sector development through the removal of various regulatory and administrative bottlenecks that still make doing business in our country difficult,” he said.
He said Business Botswana recognises the important role that the private sector and the agricultural sector play in the development of the economy, as they have been relentless in pursuing policy and regulatory reforms to stimulate the growth of the private sector. owners contracted by government under the ISPAAD scheme resulting in the tractor owners experiencing cash flow problems.
“It is therefore urgent to ensure that tractor owners are paid in time, especially that they are now preparing for the next ploughing season,” he noted. He also said the ISPAAD incentive scheme for horticulture offers generous support of 60 percent to groups as opposed to 40 percent for individuals.
He said this is unnecessary and counterproductive because it forces individuals to join collectives even though there is no empirical evidence to support the notion that groups fare better than individual farmers.
“We need to reform this policy so that individual farmers who do not wish to participate in collective schemes are not penalised,” he said. He added that the show presented a golden opportunity to promote crops and livestock of the highest quality that should be targeted towards the export market.
He said Business Botswana believes that a rapid expansion of the private sector is essential to achieve desirable economic growth. Mosienyane said this country has no choice but to pursue an open export orientated economy with a flourishing agricultural sector to lift Batswana out of poverty.
“This requires us to continue to support the private sector development through the removal of various regulatory and administrative bottlenecks that still make doing business in our country difficult,” he said.
He said Business Botswana recognises the important role that the private sector and the agricultural sector play in the development of the economy, as they have been relentless in pursuing policy and regulatory reforms to stimulate the growth of the private sector.