KEY NOTE ADDRESS BY THE PRESIDENT OF BUSINESS BOTSWANA, MR. LEKWALO MOSIENYANE

Chief Executive Officer of SADC Development Finance Resource Centre and your Executives,

Chief Executive of BITC and your team,

Senior Government Officials,

Programme Facilitator,

Representatives of the Business Community,

Distinguished Participants,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

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1. It is my esteemed honour and privilege to have been afforded the opportunity to officiate at the opening of this Public Private Partnership (PPP) training programme, which has been deliberately structured to include most local stakeholders relevant to the use of PPPs in Botswana. Let me therefore extend my profound gratitude to BITC and SADC DFRC for having taken the initiative to deliver this important training. For our stand as Business Botswana, the timing couldn’t have been better.  PPPs are globally popular as a model of economic stimulation, with a strong participation of the private sector. It is for this reason that, the government of Botswana has positively embraced our call for the establishment of a PPP Policy Framework for Botswana, anchored and enabled by a fully-fledged coordinating unit within the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning. I must admit that, while PPPs are always reflected in different forums as the way to go for Botswana, very little has been achieved on the ground owing to a number of challenges particularly availability of necessary capacity.

2. This therefore calls for a renewed discussion by relevant parties, to establish what interventions are required to accelerate the adoption, and utilization of PPPs in public infrastructure project delivery in Botswana. It is therefore appropriate that as we reignite the discussions, BITC and the SADC DFRC have seen it fit to afford all relevant stakeholders an empowerment training course, which will get all of us to clearly understand what PPPs are; where in the world have they been used effectively, what benefits they will bring for Botswana if well implemented, and what are the opportunity costs that arise out of the prolonged delay in implementation of the policy framework.

3. Botswana’s pensions industry is highly liquid, with funds in excess of BWP 60bn. The fact that more than 70% of these funds are currently invested abroad points to some subdued ability to create investment opportunities for this money to flow back and stimulate the domestic economy. The creation of such opportunities is enabled by the level of appetite by government to partner public funds with private funds in delivering social and economic public infrastructure projects. We therefore have to establish the level of appetite, but in saying so, I can assure you that the private sector is ready, we just need government to commit to facilitate us.

4. I was quite encouraged by the recent speech by the Hon Minister of Finance and Development Planning, Rre Matambo, on the occasion of the launch of the new SADC DFRC head office in Gaborone, when he said that government is fully committed to PPPs, but will need technical support from experienced partners like the SADC DFRC to establish the PPP office. It is pleasing to see a strong participation by MFDP, which bears testimony to government commitment as recently pronounced by the Hon Minister.

5. I am therefore confident that as an outcome of this training, we will engage in a sustained discussion that will lead to a structured and documented framework and road map of rolling out PPPs in Botswana. It is also pleasing to see a strong participation at the right levels by other relevant parties, as this will enable implementation of any decisions to be made regarding PPPs in Botswana.

6. Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen, this training dovetails well with our concerted effort of advocating for the use of PPP models in Botswana. We firmly believe, that PPPs can create a cycle of mutual benefit for all parties involved, with the private sector not just a benefactor but a beneficiary as well. Let me hasten to say, PPPs also presents an opportunity for the Private Sector to play a substantial role in the economic development of Botswana.

7. I therefore take this opportunity to wish you a very informative training session, and urge each one of you to think beyond the training, and assess your individual role in enabling economic stimulation in Botswana through PPPs.

8. It is now my absolute pleasure to declare the BITC – SADC DFRC Public Private Partnership Training Officially opened.

9. I thank you for your kind attention,

10. Good Morning.