The District Economic Development Committee in Okavango has highlighted several persistent and systemic challenges that continue to hinders the ease of doing business in the district.
During their meeting of the during the 2nd quarter of the 20225/26 financial year., members addressed four major areas for improvement to facilitate the ease of doing business in Okavango, with a special emphasis on inclusive entrepreneurship.
The District Development Committee (DDC) Report reveals that one of the issues identified is the inclusion of Persons Living with Disabilities (PLWD). A serious concern was raised about the current lack of procurement from businesses owned by PLWD across the district.
As determination was made for relevant departments to create a dedicated database of all businesses owned by PLWD to allow for targeted tender sensitisation and empowerment programs. “Furthermore, the committee discussed the possibility of deliberately reserving a specific quota of tenders for these businesses to compete for amongst themselves, ensuring fairer access to opportunities,” read the report.
Another challenge raised is the Delayed implementation of Okavango District Local Economic Drive (LED) strategy (2021-2025) which was rejected by the Ministry of Local Government and Traditional Affairs.
“The rejection was based on the specific projects that were chosen for inclusion in that the they did not incorporate natural resources despite Okavango being endowed with abundance of natural resources.”
A dedicated Technical Task Committee has since been established with a clear mandate to review and revise the rejected LED Strategy document. The team will be working on the necessary changes and hopeful that the updated strategy will be presented for approval before the end of the current financial year.
Inadequate market access for local businesses was another challenge reported across various departments. Majority of entrepreneurs (beneficiaries) within the district still struggle to find viable platforms to showcase and sell their products, which severely limits their potential for growth and sustainability.
It was resolved for the quarterly market days to be resuscitated and the events will be dedicated to showcasing businesses from various programs and sectors within the district. “The primary goal is to create direct and regular opportunities for local businesses to connect with customers, thereby directly addressing the critical need for enhanced market access.”
Additionally, the committee acknowledged a critical gap in its activities that it had not engaged the local business community to facilitate ease of doing business. It admitted that the failure to maintain a regular dialogue means that the committee was missing a key platform to better support local businesses to grow since the engagements provide a two-way conversation to give feedback and updates on critical issues. It was however highlighted that some Council divisions (Bye-law, Physical Planning, Economic Planning, and Environmental health) who are members of committee conducted a joint consultative meeting with Informal sector in Shakawe during reporting period.
“As a result, an interim committee has been established to ensure structured and ongoing dialogue between the government and informal businesses. As a resolution, the committee has made it a formal priority to establish a regular (quarterly) schedule for these engagements moving forward,” concluded the report.
