By ARNALDO VIEIRA

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Botswana has imposed a ban on the importation of vegetables and bottled natural and mineral water, local media confirmed.

The Southern Times newspaper quoted the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry, Ms Peggy Serame, as explaining that the government had imposed restrictions on the entry of the goods under the Control of Goods, Prices and Other Charges Act.

“The implementation of the regulations would promote the competitiveness and sustainability of the domestic water-bottling sector,” the government official was further quoted.

“The move is also intended to stimulate investment in the sector, which could lead to job creation and poverty reduction," she added.

Local farmers

Last month, the Botswana government banned the importation of beetroot, green pepper, butternut, watermelon, green maize, tomatoes, carrots and sweet potatoes.

A Ministry of Agricultural Development and Food Security officer, Mr Boikhutsho Rabasha, was quoted as saying local farmers were producing enough for the domestic market.

Reports show that South Africa’s horticultural farmers continued to benefit immensely from Botswana’s inability to produce enough vegetables and fruits to satisfy the local demand, the Southern Times newspaper further reported.

Botswana is the world's largest producer of diamonds and the trade in the product has transformed the nation.

Success stories

Its significant diamond wealth, good governance, prudent economic management and a relatively small population of more than two million, have made it an upper middle-income country according to the World Bank.

Botswana is located at the centre of southern Africa, between South Africa, Namibia, Angola, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

It was one of the world’s poorest countries at independence in 1966, but rapidly became one of the development success stories.

Botswana has a stable political environment with a multi-party democratic tradition.