This photo taken on May 13, 2023, shows locally produced maize in Gaborone, Botswana. (Photo by Tshekiso Tebalo/Xinhua)
Botswana's Ministry of Trade and Industry has announced a plan to improve the quality of Botswana-produced goods and services in an effort to foster economic growth, an official said Sunday.
GABORONE, May 22 (Xinhua) -- Botswana's Ministry of Trade and Industry has announced a plan to improve the quality of Botswana-produced goods and services in an effort to foster economic growth, an official said Sunday.
This follows the approval of the National Quality Policy by the parliament of the southern African country in 2022, Oarabile Phefo, the spokesperson in Botswana's Ministry of Trade and Industry, told journalists in Gaborone, the capital of Botswana.
"The main objective of the policy is to ensure that the quality of Botswanan goods and services is designed to match the needs, expectations and requirements of producers, retailers and consumers," said Phefo during a plenary workshop of the ministry.
Tomatoes grow under solar panels at Botswana University of Agriculture and Natural Resources in Gaborone, Botswana on March 15, 2023.(Photo by Tshekiso Tebalo/Xinhua)
Phefo said the policy is pivotal in the broader industrial, diversification and export strategies that seek the development of quality products and services.
According to Phefo, the policy seeks to enhance trade and economic development simultaneously ensuring that the safety and health of humans, as well as the environment, are not compromised.
While speaking at a similar event, Botswanan Minister of Trade and Industry Mmusi Kgafela said Botswana will intensify quality supervision, strengthen protection of intellectual property rights, and combatting the manufacturing and selling of fake and shoddy goods.
Businesses will be encouraged to uphold the "entrepreneurial spirit" and "craftsman spirit," and improve their quality management and core competitiveness through brand-building, according to Kgafela.
In improving the quality of its products and services, Botswana will also ensure closer cooperation with its major trading partners, he said. ■
