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Former mayor of Francistown, Iqbal Ebrahim was firmly convinced that the second city had great potential to become a leading industrial hub in the northern part of the country.
In a broad interview with the Patriot Sunday, the 68-year-old renowned businessman notes that Francistown occupies a strategic position as it forms the gateway to neighboring countries such as Zambia, Zimbabwe and, to a certain extent, Namibia. Because of its proximity to the aforementioned SADC countries, Ebrahim believes that the city has an easily accessible market for products that can be manufactured in Francistown. "Another competitive advantage of Francistown lies in the huge pieces of Gerald Estates' industrial and commercial land that are currently unused," said former president of the Confederation of Commerce, Industry and Commerce. the Botswana workforce (BOCCIM), now called Business Botswana.
Ebrahim believes that for Francistown to attract investors and settle there, the leadership should be favorable to investors, adding that it is still a bit heavy for expatriate investors to be issued residence and work permits. He admits that progress has been made since President Mokgweetsi Masisi acceded to the presidency in an attempt to ease laws that deter potential investors. "I must admit that we have made a lot of progress in our attempt to revise such laws that frighten potential investors, but that there is still much to be done," said the pillar of Botswana's ruling Democratic Party, which is became mayor of Francistown and deputy mayor for two decades.
The badagenarian took a look at all the political leaders of the second city, claiming not to be pbadionate about the development of Francistown. He argued that Francistown's current political leaders are selfish and care less about the well-being of residents. "Today's politicians are greedy; they only want to get rich at the expense of the voters who elected them to such positions. They only care about their siege allowances to the detriment of the suffering majority. During our tenure as City Manager We received £ 74 per day, but we have reached a milestone for Francistown. We played a major role in establishing sites such as Area W and Satellite, "he said, criticizing the fact that today's politicians are not worth consulting with their constituents, adding that some of them had not yet held a single meeting of the kgotla since their election.
According to Ebrahim, consultation is an integral part of modern democracy. "How are you going to promote developments in your riding or constituency if you do not consult with your constituents to find out what is hurting them?" he questioned. Ebrahim, who is also a board member of Botswana Ash, said politicians need to get back to basics and start consulting with their constituents to speed up their development.
He said that when he had suggestions on how to speed up the developments at Francistown, the management gave him a cold look at the suspicions he wanted to enrich himself. He added that once, he suggested that the government build a railway line between Sowa Town and Kazungula to transport goods to neighboring countries. His proposal was rejected, but he is surprised that the railway line will be built in the near future at exorbitant costs.
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