Minister of Works and Transportion Johnnie Swartz of Botswana

Mr Swartz said during a kgotla meeting, that failure to work together will frustrate development efforts and noted that a VDC is supposed to operate from its local kgotla.

Read at Mmegi Archived: 2006-06-03Botswana: Botswana in talks with Zimbabwe on FMD FRANCISTOWN: Agriculture Minister, Johnnie Swartz said yesterday that the government continues to talk to their Zimbabwean counterparts on the problems relating to the Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD.

Presenting his ministrys draft mid term review of NDP 9, Swartz said a gender development in agriculture policy would promote active participation by women in the sector.

Swartz said the sector faces broad challenges that include unfavourable climatic conditions, low productivity levels, limited access to credit and high input costs.

Agriculture minister Johnnie Swartz said when presenting his ministrys chapter of the draft mid-term review of National Development Plan 9 that irrigation schemes had been commissioned at Glen Valley and Dikabeya.

Swartz said the ministry was now focusing on phase two of NAMPAADD, which is to roll out activities to cover other parts of the country.

Swartz said the dairy industry produces 43 per cent of national milk requirements.

Plan 9, Swartz said currently there were 46 ostrich farmers whose combined bird total was 4 100, which was way below the break-even output of 15 000 birds required by the abattoir annually.

FRANCISTOWN: The government cannot load the electric cordon fence to a lethal level as that would spark controversy, Minister of Agriculture, Johnnie Swartz said on Wednesday.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Swartz said five more branches - Ghanzi, Tsabong, Mahalapye, Serowe and Maun - are scheduled for opening this year as the BMC goes on an aggressive programme to re-claim its customer base that has been getting eroded by private abattoirs and 'small time' village butcheries.

This has discouraged many of our farmers who have since abandoned production, agriculture minister Johnnie Swartz said at the opening ceremony.

The Minister of Works and Transport, Mr Johnnie Swartz has warned that Botswana might lose the gains it had made in education and training, if citizens cannot guard against the spread of HIV/AIDS and curb.

Mr Swartz said it is anticipated that the mobilisation of funds and tendering for construction of the bridge will take a further nine to 12 months, adding that it is expected that construction of the bridge would commence in late 2010.

Mr Swartz said the signing of the initial contract was aborted at the last minute because Zimbabwe objected to proceeding with the project due to the fact that funds for the Zimbabwean border facilities had not been secured.