‘Don’t take over-border markets for granted’

South Africa too often takes
countries like Botswana for granted,
not realising the importance the
stability of the country brings to the
region, says Duncan Bonnett, an
analyst with Africa House.
“We don’t always
give our immediate
neighbours the
attention they
deserve or take up
the opportunities
presented for increased
trade,” he said. “If we
look at trade flow and
investment statistics
locally then it is clear
to see that South
African companies
are to a certain degree
losing some grip to
foreign competitors.
Our neighbours should be taken
more seriously as they offer very
real and tangible opportunities in
light of this competitive global trade
environment.”
He said Botswana and Namibia
remained in the top five markets for
manufactured exports from South
Africa.
“We really are taking these
markets for granted thinking that
they will just always be there. We
are focusing so much on African
expansion strategies
– talking Nigeria
and Kenya – that we
are forgetting about
these very important
markets right on our
doorstep.”
He said both these
markets offered stable
political and economic
environments, were
transparent, relatively
free of corruption
and had very easy
business operating
environments.
“Botswana has been stable
for many years and continues to
see growth of 3-4% per year. It
is a market that South African
companies should be taking far more
seriously.”
INSERT AND CAPTION
Botswana and
Namibia are in the
top five markets
for manufactured
exports from South
Africa.
– Duncan Bonnett