Cattle worth celebrating

Beef and cattle are an integral part of Botswana’s culture and a way of life, Assistant Minister of Trade and Industry, Mr Sadique Kebonang, has said. “Botswana is what it is today because of significant contribution made by our cattle,” Ms Kebonang said during the third annual Lobatse International Beef Festival on May 30.

 He said cattle played a meaningful role in the country’s economy well before the diamonds were discovered; therefore he was pleased to see the community of Lobatse celebrating what for a long time had been the country’s economic mainstay.

Mr Kebonang, also Lobatse MP, said the beef festival should be seen as a way of branding Botswana locally, regionally and globally; hence it being tagged ‘international’.

The beef festival, he said, promoted not only Botswana beef and its contribution to the lives of Batswana, but also Lobatse as a vibrant town that has all the necessary amenities required for business.

Apart from instilling a sense of pride in the Lobatse community, he said the festival also promoted, developed and grew small and medium enterprises generally, especially allied to the beef industry.

One of the spinoffs of events such as a beef festival was the revitilisation of the domestic tourism industry and in increase in domestic spending, said Mr Kebonang, adding that the event also provided an opportunity for businesses, especially those in Lobatse to grow and develop their products and services to levels that attracted international visitors; thus contributing to Foreign Direct Investment.

He urged all to nurture and support the event to ensure its growth and development which makes a difference in the lives of ordinary citizens.

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