Francistown, Aug 10, 2009 (Mmegi/The Reporter/All Africa Global Media via COMTEX) -- The former president of the Botswana Confederation of Commerce, Industry and Manpower (BOCCIM), Igbal Ibrahim has asked the business community here to think about implications of the Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs).

Ibrahim was speaking at a BOCCIM-sponsored workshop to create awareness on EPAs at Thapama Hotel this week.

"What do they mean to the business community?" he queried. "People seldom sit down and think about the implications or complications of partnerships and trade agreements.

There has been many opportunities to export to Europe and America, but we have to know how to do that without compromising citizens and their businesses." Ibrahim said it was hard for Botswana to explore opportunities, given its population of only two million people. "How can we explore opportunities and compete in the open market?" Ibrahim said because the EU was opening its borders to Botswana, the country had to reciprocate and that that constituted a challenge. "Are we ready? I doubt that. We are a very small market and a small community still trying our hand at business," he said.

Botswana is a small and developing market, and opening borders would raise issues of capacity as demanded by bigger markets. Ibrahim warned opening borders could result in closing down local businesses.

"The business community has to ask questions because even though the EU market is duty-free and quota-free, there are still other barriers," he stated. "It is nice to be international but it is also nice to look after our own people," he added.

Making a presentation at the workshop, the Executive Director of Delta Dairies, Howard Sigwele, suggested the formation of a National Monitoring Committee composed of members of the public and private sectors, BOCONGO and organised labour to oversee the implementation of the interim EPA. "The EU, as a key partner of the SADC-EPA, is expected to become an automatic member of the committee," Sigwele said. "Monitoring of the EPA should be undertaken quarterly while annual reports are made available to all stakeholders for feedback and the way forward." "The committee should submit an annual report to all stakeholders for review and action. The committee should also coordinate the review of the agreement after three years of implementation. Financial provisions under the EPA should be made for the review." Sigwele also suggested that an examination of opportunities, challenges and threats posed by the agreement be carried out. Sigwele said in order to curtail unfair business practices such as price-fixing, collusion and cartels posed by EU firms in Botswana, a Competition Authority be established upon the adoption of a competition law.

Subsidised EU exports to Botswana should be subject to existing domestic and SACU laws and anti-dumping measures adopted in order to protect local companies and their products, he said.