AN ALLEGED scam involving a Botswana company importing garments from China, relabelling them ‘Made in Botswana’, and exporting them under the African Growth and Opportunity Act has been uncovered. Employees of garment manufacturing company Caratex reported the management to the Department of Customs last week. Police and customs officials moved in swiftly and shut down the Caratex II factory - a subsidiary of Caratex, according to information provided on Agoa.com After the closure, the over 80 employees of the company were sent home immediately, according to the report “We are at the preliminary stage of our investigations. It is too early to divulge any information,” a source at the customs department was quoted as saying on the site. According to employees, there are stacks of imported clothes labelled ‘Made in Botswana’ lined up at the factory. “These clothes are imports, their packaging is written in Chinese. They have not been made here. Our duty is merely to re-package them and label the packaging as also ‘Made in Botswana’.” Caratex managing director and majority shareholder, Craig Chow, said it was impossible that his company could flout Agoa agreements, the report states. “Our Chinese produce is sold to South Africa. Botswana cannot meet the market demand therefore we have to produce in China so that we sell to South Africa,” he revealed. “We only send them a copy from Botswana, and the Chinese then mass produce the required product. We have to use the original label.” While dismissing the allegations Chow maintained that it could have been a mistake if Chinese products were delivered to Botswana labelled: ‘Made in Botswana’, the report states.
