Botswana and South Africa must seek mutually beneficial growth that creates jobs in equal measure while also deepening trade and investment relations between the two countries, President Cyril Ramaphosa said.
“In my meeting earlier today with President Boko, we agreed that one of our greatest tasks of the moment is to further deepen trade and investment relations between our two countries,” President Ramaphosa said on Thursday evening.
Speaking at the Botswana-South Africa Business Forum, the President said the economic interests of both countries are closely intertwined.
“We must therefore seek mutually beneficial growth that creates jobs in equal measure for Botswana and South Africans. We each have substantial natural resources and developed industrial capacity that we must harness,” he said.
The business forum was held on the margins of the 6th Bi-National Commission between Botswana and South Africa.
READ | President Ramaphosa concludes SA-Botswana BNC
The President who embarked on a two-day State Visit to the country’s Southern African neighbour this week, said there are several areas in which greater economic cooperation will yield significant benefits including in agriculture.
“We are both nations of farmers, with agricultural industries that have been developed over decades. We both have ambitions to further develop these industries and to expand our agro-processing capabilities. We want to derive more value from our land.
“In pursuing these ambitions, there is great scope for us to work together.”
He also spoke of the need to have cooperative mechanisms to manage the flow of agricultural goods between the two countries in order to ensure predictability and sustainability.
“Through the Bi-National Commission we have endorsed measures to holistically address these matters, including the placing of restrictions on imports of certain goods.”
With South Africa continuing its drive to inoculate its herd of cattle to combat Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD), the President said there is a commitment to pursue cooperation in the production of vaccines to fight animal diseases.
He also expressed gratitude to the government of Botswana for facilitating the delivery of significant doses of vaccines to South Africa to combat FMD.
President Ramaphosa said both countries need to work together to address the effects of climate change on agricultural industries, especially as large parts of our respective countries are already water scarce.
This as the two nations’ agricultural industries are increasingly vulnerable to cycles of drought and flooding.
Infrastructure was named by the President as the second area of economic cooperation as it is vital to get agricultural produce and manufactured goods to markets.
“It is vital to powering factories and mines, to irrigating crops, to supplying businesses and homes with water, and to enabling the rapid flow of information over great distances. Infrastructure is vital for driving industrialisation and facilitating trade.”
He said that South Africa supports plans to establish a One Stop Border Post at Tlokweng/Kopfontein as it will help reduce congestion at the border, facilitate trade and enhance the efficient movement of people and goods.
“Another cross-border venture is the proposed Lesotho–Botswana Water Transfer Project, which would bring water from Lesotho across South Africa and to Botswana. Together with the Ramotswa Transboundary Aquifer, this initiative will support water security into the future, while enabling sustainable growth and development.”
The two rail corporations of both nations, Transnet and Botswana Rail, are working together towards the establishment of the Mmamabula-Lephalale rail line.
It is expected that this would be able to transport 18 million tons of cargo a year on a 117 km rail link stretch that straddles the two countries.
Botswana and South Africa should also focus on cooperating in the energy space as they are endowed with an abundant supply of solar energy, which should be harnessed both to power both economies and to produce green hydrogen for the broader global market.
“In the long-term, our two countries must consider an energy corridor that locates our renewable generation sites along our borders and the linking of integrated grids.”
He also made the call to build more resilient mining industries to make the Botswana and South African economies more resilient.
“The critical and rare earths minerals that we possess provide such an opportunity. They compel us to collaborate in diversifying our mining and mineral-beneficiation sectors.”
Defining beneficiation
President Ramaphosa called on the two countries to deepen the work already underway for frameworks that define mineral beneficiation not just from a domestic vantage point, but from a bilateral and regional perspective.
“Out of our discussions over the last few days, the governments of Botswana and South Africa have ambitious plans for driving inclusive economic growth through close collaboration.”
The President invited business communities in the two countries to embrace that ambition and to deploy their substantial resources, capabilities and energies to foster greater trade and investment.
“Through this, we can together create sustainable employment, establish new industries, invest in infrastructure and derive greater value from our abundant natural resources. We are two countries with one mission: to build a prosperous and secure future for all our people,” he said.
Also speaking at the forum, Trade, Industry and Competition Deputy Minister, Alexandra Abrahams, called for a stronger implementation-driven approach to bilateral economic cooperation focused on investment, industrialisation and regional value chains between the two countries.
READ | Call for stronger implementation-driven approach to cooperation between SA and Botswana
-SAnews.gov.za
