11/10/2026
๐๐ข๐๐ข ๐ง๐๐๐๐ฆ ๐ง๐๐ก๐๐๐ฅ๐ฃ๐ฅ๐๐ก๐๐จ๐ฅ๐ฆ ๐ง๐๐๐ง ๐๐๐ข๐ฅ๐ฌ ๐๐๐ฌ๐ฆ ๐๐ฅ๐ ๐ข๐ฉ๐๐ฅ!
President Duma Boko has criticised businesses that rely on government tenders to supply imported goods, particularly those sourced from China and sold to the government at inflated prices, saying such practices do not constitute genuine citizen economic empowerment.
Speaking at the Second Presidential Business Roundtable, which brought together government and private sector leaders, Boko challenged businesses to move away from tenders towards manufacturing and domestic production.
โIf you want to go to China, bring something here and inflate prices, that is not economic empowerment at all. It isn't,โ he said.
The President argued that government procurement should instead be used to support businesses that manufacture within Botswana, develop intellectual property locally and contribute directly to the domestic economy.
โThen we are prepared to deploy government's purchasing power to favour you unapologetically. Thatโs citizen economic empowerment,โ he said.
โUnder the existing legislation, you are entitled to be empowered and recognised, even if you are charging slightly higher than others.โ
He argued that Botswana needed to change its understanding of doing business, insisting that doing business should increasingly mean producing goods and services rather than importing finished products for resale to government.
โWhat exactly is doing business? Doing business now must mean production. Farms produce. We must manufacture so that we can take advantage, at scale, of the Africa Continental Free Trade Area Agreement, among other opportunities,โ Boko said.
He called for aggressive industrialisation, saying government and the private sector must direct their efforts and resources towards manufacturing and other productive activities.
Boko also questioned whether Botswana was making sufficient progress towards becoming a knowledge-based economy, challenging businesses to play a greater role in building productive capacity.
โThat is the challenge that business must deal with. It is a challenge for all of us,โ he said.
