6 December 2024
Vice President and Minister of Finance, Ndaba Gaolathe, has dismissed the vegetable ban as a flawed policy with the potential to undermine Botswana’s economic transformation agenda.
Responding to a question in Parliament from the Member of Parliament for Maun West, Goretetse Kekgonegile, Gaolathe stated that there are more progressive ways to empower local farmers and develop the local horticultural sector without resorting to a vegetable ban.
“I put it to you that a vegetable ban is bad economics—very bad economics. Anything that requires tariffs to sustain it, even in the short term, is bad economics.
What is happening now is that food and vegetables have become more expensive in Botswana. Low-income groups—people who are already struggling—are spending a larger percentage of their income on food,” Gaolathe said.
Gaolathe acknowledged that local farmers have benefited from the vegetable ban but emphasised that this is not a sustainable way to grow the sector. He suggested that more effective measures could include directly subsidising vegetable farmers by establishing a dedicated fund for them.
“What we need to target is not just funding, but also research and development.
We should support these farmers by connecting them with experienced mentors, without imposing these kinds of bans,” he said.
Gaolathe further explained that an import ban could backfire, especially as Botswana seeks to expand its export markets.
“Botswana is a small country, and the way to create jobs for our people is by developing industries that can export. Our market is limited; we need enterprises that export to the rest of Africa and the global market.
Because of our size, Botswana needs the outside world more than they need us. We must always keep that in mind. If we impose import bans under the guise of ‘bringing back jobs,’ we could harm our ability to compete and export to the international markets and create jobs “
Source: The Projects Magazine
