Briefing Parliamentarians recently, Ministry of Entrepreneurship Karabo Gare said BMC is also reviving its tannery to have adequate base raw-material for the leather park project.
“To this end given its existing assets, already serviced land, skills and machinery, BMC is courting these state entities to revive the BMC tannery so that it goes back to producing wet-blue tanned leather and in the same guarantee scrutinise adequate base raw-material for the leather park project,” he said. Last year government has committed P379 million to the development of the illusive Lobatse Leather park.
The leather park has been in the pipeline since 2014 with little progress, a fact that has frustrated Lobatse authorities and residents. In 2020, LEA had said it completed the evaluation of the project and was awaiting its adjudication. By then LEA had anticipated the project to kick start in December that year. The same year, SEZA was reported to have suggested that the leather park business case study be reviewed to ensure that the enterprise would be profitable. It emerged that the locally available leather was not enough to run a profitable operation when it comes to the leather park.
Once operational, the park is expected to supply the private sector with hides and skin, raw to finished leather tanneries and the manufacturing of different leather products. These products include shoes, belts, jackets and others thereby playing an instrumental role in stimulating economic activity. The leather industry strategy was developed in 2012 and by then government said the plant could employ up to 10,000 people when fully functional, marking a sustainable economic div
