research and development division procurement fro… · education, local government, health, works...

RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT DIVISION

GOVERNMENT AND PARASTATALS PROCUREMENT FROM SMEs STUDY REPORT

July 2009

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Executive Summary This study provides information on the level of procurement of goods and services by five

government ministries and parastatals from the SMEs. The targeted ministries were those of

Education, Local Government, Health, Works and Transport and Agriculture. These are the

ministries with the highest recurrent budgets during 2005/6 and 2006/7 financial years.

Research objectives

I. Determine the extent to which local SMEs participate in Government and Parastatals

tendering processes.

II. Identify current challenges faced by the SMEs in tendering for government and

parastatals procurement contracts.

III. Identify policies, regulations and processes affecting SMEs access to government and

parastatal procurement contracts.

IV. Identify opportunities for increased local SMEs participation in Government and

Parastatal tendering processes

Major Findings Central Government Departments

The results show that all the four (4) government ministries namely, the Ministry of Education,

Health, Agriculture and Works and Transport departments (94%) are supportive of SMEs, as

they purchase most products and services from the local businesses even though they don’t

specify whether these are SMEs and only (45%) of the respondents buy them from the

Department of Supply. Only (2%) of the participants indicated that they buy from foreign

businesses.

The most frequently purchased products and services by the ministries’ departments are

stationery (89%), cleaning materials (72%), food stuffs (52%), office furniture (38%) and

protective clothing mentioned by at least (24%) of the respondents. These products that are

regarded as essential in these departments and hence are bought frequently. Overall, the

government departments are content with the quality, pricing and adherence to delivery times of

all the essential products supplied by the local SMEs.

Most of the government departments (85%) interviewed indicated that they give preference to

local SMEs when they buy their products and services. There are however, those who don’t give

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priority to SMEs (15%) or don’t know if they have to give preference to SMEs. This may imply

that the Local Procurement Programme and the Reservations Policy are not being fully

implemented.

Local Government Departments

The results indicate that the most essential products and services for the Ministry of Local

Government departments are accessible and could be supplied by local SMEs. These include

stationery and printing services, cleaning services and equipment, toiletry, furniture, office

equipment and repairs, catering services and foodstuffs, staff uniform, and protective clothing.

All the essential products were purchased locally from both local SMEs, large enterprises and the

Department of Supplies. None of the departments mentioned purchasing from foreign

businesses.

The study has established that the five most frequently procured products and services for

councils are stationery, foodstuffs, cleaning materials, furniture and vehicle spares respectively.

As for expenditure, the top five products and services that attracted the high expenditures are

foodstuffs, fuels and lubricants, vehicle spares and services, utilities and related services and

building materials.

The combined expenditure for the 2005/6 and 2006/7 financial years for the councils under

review is close to P280 million with 65% of this expenditure going to SME procurement. This is

the highest proportion expenditure directed at SMEs, when compared to both central

government and parastatals procurement expenditure. Most of the Councils’ procurement is

from local businesses.

The challenges faced by councils when dealing with SMEs are fairly similar to those experienced

by central government and parastatals, with the underlying themes pointing towards poor

business practices and capacity issues.

There are currently no specific procurement regulations or policies giving SMEs an advantage

over other supplier categories. However, the support the councils are extending to SMEs by

preferring them over other suppliers should be further enhanced by addressing the shortcomings

identified. Such interventions would fit perfectly within the mandates of organizations such as

the LEA.

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Parastatals

Procurement records for the two financial years under review (2005/6 and 2006/7) show that

parastatals spent close to P1.2 billion on procurement of products and services used in their

respective offices and areas of operations.

Almost half of the expenditure was spent on procurement from SMEs. Parastatals also have

confidence in the capacity of SMEs to supply them with most of their supplies requirements as

they are generally satisfied with the quality of supplies, pricing and delivery times.

Parastatals do not have any formal and targeted reservations for SMEs in their procurement

guidelines, policies or regulations. This could be a potential opportunity if SMEs were to get

preference for products/services for which capacity to supply has been established.

SMES The majority of the SMEs enumerated are in the services sector (78%) and these businesses

provide vehicle spare parts, cleaning services, security services and business process outsourcing.

The SMEs interviewed in the services and manufacturing sectors have a higher number of part-

time and temporary employees as compared to the agriculture and tourism sector businesses.

This could be due to the nature of the services they provide like security services, catering and

cleaning services which don’t necessarily require full-time employees.

The main consumers of the SMEs products and services are the government of Botswana (78%)

followed by the general public (71%); private companies (65%) and parastatals (55%).

The tender regulations and procurement procedures of the few parastatals the study managed to

access, being LEA, WUC and UB don’t demonstrate a deliberate effort by parastatals to

purchase from SMEs.

The most significant challenge faced by the SMEs is the intense competition from other local

SMEs, mentioned by (32%) of the respondents, larger companies and foreign companies which

have a better purchasing power.

Lack of skilled labour mentioned by (11%) of the respondents is also a challenge, and it impedes

the SMEs from penetrating certain markets which are already dominated by larger businesses.

Other challenges although mentioned by a very insignificant number of SMEs do have adverse

effect on the performance of the SMEs. These include Batswana preferring imports compared to

local produce and buying agrochemicals from outside due to the price differences.

Lack of proper infrastructure, operating space and equipment were mentioned by some of the

SMEs which they stated it this tends to put a strain on their finances because they end up paying

high rentals.

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Recommendations for LEA

1. LEA in collaboration with the Ministry of Trade and Industry should advocate for a

reservations policy for local SMEs to access government procurement contracts,

especially for products and services identified as essential by the government

departments.

2. LEA in collaboration with BOCCIM should encourage SMEs to form strategic

partnerships with larger enterprises and other SMEs when they have won tenders to

learn from the experiences of others in terms of quality, pricing and adherence to

delivery times and be able to manage the awarded contract.

3. The Local Enterprise Authority in collaboration with other stakeholders such as the

PPADB and BOCCIM should facilitate the improvement of the capacity of SMMEs

participating in procurement actions. This should be targeted and must include skills

development pertaining to government and parastatals tendering procedures and

regulations, technology improvements, improvement in quality standards and customer

service, financial management and strategic partnership between SMEs and larger

enterprises and amongst SMEs themselves.

4. LEA should sensitise SMEs on the importance of having a permanent/known place of

operation. The basic requirements like permanent contact addresses, phone number and

fax number are one the things that most of the SMEs don’t provide making it difficult to

contact them.

5. The Local Enterprise Authority in collaboration with other stakeholders should expedite

the development of affordable infrastructure and operating space for SMMEs as part of

the broader effort of improving their productivity and competitiveness in the provision

of goods and services.

6. LEA in collaboration with the Ministry of Trade and Industry should advocate for

councils to be afforded the opportunity to develop local reservations policies and

guidelines to allow councils to fulfil procurement preferences of certain products and

services from SMEs.

7. LEA in its endeavour to develop and promote SMMEs should continue to buy goods

and services from the local SMMEs.

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Recommendations for Parastatals

1. Parastatals in general should be encouraged to make a deliberate effort to purchase their

goods and services from the local SMEs. Moreover, there should be a verifying and

monitoring system to ensure that indeed purchases are made from the local SMEs for

promotion of economic growth.

2. Supply of certain products and services should be reserved for local SMEs only and

large local businesses should be discouraged from tendering for such jobs.

3. To enforce transparency and accountability in the procurement of goods and services

in the parastatals, the procurement policies of all the parastatals funded by the

Government of Botswana should clearly state so.

4. Procurement policies and procedures of parastatals should clearly state preference for

local procurement specifically from the local SMEs and goods and services that fall

within this category should be clearly stated.

5. SMEs should be trained on how to negotiate with their customers once they are

awarded a contract so that they set achievable delivery times that could easily be adhered

to taking into account all the factors that may impede their efficiency.

Recommendations for Other Stakeholders

1. Government departments should be encouraged to have an effective procurement

monitoring system in place to ensure that the departments adhere to the stipulated

payment times.

2. The PPADB Act provides for the periodic introduction of reservations and

preferential schemes. These are targeted, time bound, and phased in and out as

deemed necessary. However, more predictable and permanent arrangements on

preferential and reservations schemes should be institutionalized to ensure sustained

local enterprise growth.

3. In line with the above, the procurement processes and procedures of parastatal

organizations should provide for the inclusion and retention of preferential and

reservation schemes pertaining to local SMEs procurement.

4. Government departments should be encouraged to automate their records so that

information is easily accessible for purposes of research in the case of LEA and

procurement in general.

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5. Preference and Reservation schemes of government and parastatal entities should

clearly state goods and services that fall within the purview of such schemes; as well

as their financial ceilings to preclude non-compliance to the schemes. Any other

pertinent information should be provided as matter of course to ensure transparency

in the implementation preference and reservation schemes.

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Table of contents

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .......................................................................................................................... 2

LIST OF ACRONYMS USED .................................................................................................................. 12

LIST OF TABLES .................................................................................................................................... 13

LIST OF FIGURES .................................................................................................................................. 17

1 INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................... 18

1.1 BACKGROUND ..................................................................................................................................... 18 1.2. RATIONALE ............................................................................................................................................. 19

1.3. LITERATURE REVIEW ............................................................................................................ 19

1.3.1. THE ROLE OF THE PUBLIC PROCUREMENT AND ASSET DISPOSAL BOARD (PPADB) ............................... 19 1.3.2. THE PPADB PROCUREMENT PROCESS .................................................................................................. 21 1.3.3. BIDDING METHODS ............................................................................................................................. 21 1.3.4. BID OPENING ...................................................................................................................................... 22 1.4. PREFERENCE POLICY AND RESERVATION SCHEME .................................................................................. 22 1.5. PROCUREMENT PROCEDURES IN PARASTATALS ........................................................................................ 23

1.5.1. Water Utilities Corporation Procurement Procedures .................................................................................... 23 1.5.2. University of Botswana (UB) Procurement Procedures .................................................................................. 23 1.5.3. Local Enterprise Authority Procurement Procedures ..................................................................................... 24

1.6. STRUCTURE OF THE REPORT .................................................................................................................... 24

2.0. RESEARCH OBJECTIVES AND METHODS .......................................................................... 25

2.1. RESEARCH OBJECTIVES .................................................................................................................... 25 2.2. METHODOLOGY .............................................................................................................................. 25

2.2.1. Government Ministries ..................................................................................................................... 25 2.2.2. Parastatals .................................................................................................................................... 26 2.2.3. Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) .............................................................................................. 26

2.3. SAMPLING ..................................................................................................... ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED. 2.3.2. Design of the Survey Instruments ............................................................................................................. 26

2.4. PRE-TESTING OF THE SURVEY INSTRUMENTS ........................................................................................... 27 2.5. CODING AND CLASSIFICATION ................................................................................................................ 27 2.6. DATA CAPTURE ....................................................................................................................................... 27 2.7. DATA ANALYSIS....................................................................................................................................... 27 2.8. LIMITATIONS ................................................................................................................................... 28

3. SMES RESULTS AND FINDINGS ................................................................................................ 29

3.1 . ORGANISATIONAL PROFILES ........................................................................................................... 29 3.1.1. Location of SMEs interviewed ...................................................................................................... 29 3.1.2 Legal Status and Employment of SMEs .............................................................................................. 29 3.1.3 Nationality of SMEs’ owners .................................................................................................................. 30

3.1.4. NUMBER OF YEARS OF OPERATION AND VAT REGISTRATION ........................................................ 31 3.1.4.1. Years of Operation ..................................................................................................................... 31 3.1.4.2. Value Added Tax (VAT) Registration ................................................................................................ 33 3.1.5. Classification of SMEs by Economic Sector .......................................................................................... 33

3.1.6. EMPLOYMENT ...................................................................................................................................... 34 3.1.6.1. Employment by Economic Sectors ......................................................................................................... 35

3.1.6.2. EMPLOYMENT LEVELS BY BUSINESS OWNERSHIP ........................................................................ 35

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3.1.7. MARKET .................................................................................................................................... 36

3.1.7.1. MAIN CONSUMERS OF PRODUCTS AND SERVICES ................................................................................. 36 3.1.7.2 Challenges in market penetration by SMEs ...................................................................................... 38 3.1.7.3 Skills required to face competition ................................................................................................... 40

3.1.8 BUSINESS TENDERING PROCESSES ......................................................................................................... 40 3.1.8.1 Location and number of SMEs that have won tenders ........................................................................ 40 3.1.8.2 Meeting Contract Obligations by SMEs .......................................................................................... 41 3.1.8.3. Submission of tenders and quotations by SMEs ....................................................................................... 42 3.1.8.4. Access to Information on tenders and quotations ....................................................................................... 43 3.1.8.5. Tendering Processes Challenges ............................................................................................................. 44 3.1.9. Preparation of Financial Reports ........................................................................................................ 46 3.1.10. SMEs Strategic Partnership ......................................................................................................... 47

3.2. SUMMARY FINDINGS ..................................................................................................................... 48

3.3. CONCLUSIONS ............................................................................................................................... 51

4.0. NUMBER OF GOVERNMENT DEPARTMENTS ENUMERATED ............................................. 53

4.1. ESSENTIAL PRODUCTS AND SERVICES PURCHASED BY GOVERNMENT DEPARTMENTS ............................... 53 4.2. ESSENTIAL PRODUCTS AND SERVICES IN THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION ................................................. 54 4.3. ESSENTIAL PRODUCTS AND SERVICES IN THE MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE ................................................ 54 4.3. ESSENTIAL PRODUCTS AND SERVICES IN THE MINISTRY OF WORKS AND TRANSPORT ............................... 55 4.4. ESSENTIAL PRODUCTS AND SERVICES IN THE MINISTRY OF HEALTH......................................................... 55 4.5. SOURCE OF ESSENTIAL PRODUCTS AND SERVICES ..................................................................................... 56 4.6. THE MOST FREQUENTLY USED PRODUCTS ................................................................................................ 57

4.6.1. Stationery .......................................................................................................................................... 57 4.6.2. MAIN SOURCES OF STATIONERY ............................................................................................................ 58 4.6.3. SOURCES OF STATIONERY BY MINISTRY ................................................................................................. 58 4.6.4. OVERALL PERCEPTIONS OF QUALITY OF STATIONERY FROM LOCAL SMES ............................................ 59

4.6.4.1. Perceptions of Quality of Stationery from local SMEs by Ministries .............................................................. 59 4.6.4.2. Overall perceptions about the pricing of stationery by all Ministries Departments .............................................. 60 4.6.4.3. Pricing Perceptions by Ministries ........................................................................................................... 61 4.6.4.4. Adherence to Stationery delivery times by Local SMEs .............................................................................. 61

4.7. CLEANING MATERIALS ............................................................................................................................ 62 4.7.1. Source of Cleaning Materials .................................................................................................................. 63 4.7.1.1. Source of Cleaning Materials by Ministry ............................................................................................... 64 4.7.1.2. Overall Perception of Quality of Cleaning Materials from local SMEs by Departments ..................................... 64 4.7.1.3. Quality of Cleaning Materials from local SMEs ...................................................................................... 64 4.7.1.4. Departments perceptions about the pricing of cleaning materials .................................................................... 65 4.7.1.5. Departments perceptions about the delivery times of cleaning material by local SMEs ......................................... 66

4.8. FOOD STUFFS .......................................................................................................................................... 67 4.8.1. SOURCE OF FOOD STUFFS ..................................................................................................................... 68

4.8.1.1. Source of Food Stuffs by the Ministry ..................................................................................................... 68 4.8.2. QUALITY OF FOODSTUFFS FROM LOCAL SMES ....................................................................................... 69 4.8.3. PRICING OF FOOD STUFFS ..................................................................................................................... 71 4.8.4. OVERALL DEPARTMENTS’ OBSERVATIONS ON THE DELIVERY TIMES OF FOODSTUFFS ............................ 72 4.9. OFFICE FURNITURE ................................................................................................................................. 73

4.9.1. Source of Office Furniture ...................................................................................................................... 73 4.9.2. Quality of Office Furniture from local SMEs ............................................................................................. 73 4.9.3. Departments’ perceptions about the pricing of office furniture ........................................................................... 74 4.9.4. Departments’ perceptions about the delivery times of office furniture .................................................................. 74

4.10. PROTECTIVE CLOTHING ........................................................................................................................ 75 4.10.1. Frequency of Purchase of Protective Clothing ............................................................................................. 75 4.10.2. Source of Protective Clothing ................................................................................................................. 76 4.10.3. Quality of Protective Clothing from local SMEs ........................................................................................ 77 4.10.4. Departments’ perceptions about the pricing of protective clothing ..................................................................... 78 4.10.5. Departments’ perceptions about the delivery times of protective clothing............................................................. 78

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4.10.6. Government Departments Payment Times for Products and Services ............................................................... 79 4.11. PROCUREMENT POLICY ISSUES .............................................................................................................. 80 4.12. DEPARTMENTS PROCUREMENT RESERVATIONS FOR LOCAL SMES .......................................................... 81 4.13. CHALLENGES FACED BY DEPARTMENTS WHEN DEALING WITH LOCAL SMES .......................................... 82 4.14. POSSIBLE IMPROVEMENTS IN THE TENDERING PROCESSES OF LOCAL SMES ........................................... 83 4.15. ADVANTAGES OF DOING BUSINESS WITH LOCAL SMES ........................................................................... 84 4.16. TERMS AND CONDITIONS IMPOSED ON OTHER SUPPLIERS ...................................................................... 85 4.18. SUMMARY FINDINGS- GOVERNMENT DEPARTMENTS ............................................................................. 86

4.19. CONCLUSIONS .............................................................................................................................. 90

5.0 MINISTRY OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT RESULTS AND FINDINGS .......................................... 91

5.1. MINISTRY OVERVIEW .............................................................................................................................. 91 5.2. NUMBER OF ENUMERATED RESPONDENTS PER LOCATION ....................................................................... 91 5.3. FREQUENTLY BOUGHT PRODUCTS AND SERVICES BY RESPONDENTS ......................................................... 92

5.3.1. Frequency of the Purchase of Essential Products .......................................................................................... 93 5.3.2. Sources of Essential Products and Services ................................................................................................. 93

5.4. RESPONDENTS’ PROCUREMENT RECORDS FOR 2005/6 AND 2006/7 YEARS .............................................. 94 5.5. RATING OF LOCAL SMES PRODUCT QUALITY, PRICING, AND SERVICE DELIVERY. ...................................... 95

5.5.1. Quality of Products & Services ............................................................................................................... 95 5.5.2: SMES PRICING OF PRODUCTS & SERVICES ............................................................................................ 95 5.5.3. ADHERENCE TO DELIVERY TIMES BY LOCAL SMES .............................................................................. 96 5.6. TURNAROUND TIME FOR PAYMENTS ........................................................................................................ 96 5.7. PROCUREMENT POLICIES EMPLOYED ...................................................................................................... 97 5.8. POTENTIAL BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES FOR LOCAL SMES ........................................................................ 98

5.9. SUMMARY OF FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS ....................................................................... 100

5.9.1. SUMMARY OF FINDINGS ...................................................................................................................... 100 5.9.2. CONCLUSIONS .................................................................................................................................... 102

6.8. EXPENDITURES BY MINISTRIES FOR 2005/6 AND 2006/7. .............................................. 117

7.0.PARASTATALS RESULTS AND FINDINGS ................................................................................... 120

7.1. LOCATION AND NUMBER OF ENUMERATED PARASTATALS ..................................................................... 120 7.2. FREQUENTLY PROCURED PRODUCTS AND SERVICES BY PARASTATALS ................................................... 120 7.3. EXPENDITURE ON PRODUCTS AND SERVICES ......................................................................................... 122 7.4. FREQUENCY OF THE PURCHASE OF PRODUCTS & SERVICES .................................................................... 123 7.5. SOURCES OF FREQUENTLY PROCURED PRODUCTS AND SERVICES .......................................................... 124 7.6. PARASTATALS PROCUREMENT RECORDS FOR 2005/6 AND 2006/7 YEARS ............................................... 125 7.7. BUSINESS WITH LOCAL SMES ................................................................................................................ 126

7.7.1. Quality of Products & Services ............................................................................................................. 126 7.2.2. Pricing of Products & Services ........................................................................................................... 127 7.2.3. Adherence to delivery Times.................................................................................................................. 127

7.3. PARASTATALS PAYMENT TIMES FOR PRODUCTS AND SERVICES .............................................................. 128 7.4. PROCUREMENT POLICIES-PARASTATALS ................................................................................................ 129 7.5. POTENTIAL BUSINESS DEALS WITH LOCAL SMES .................................................................................... 130 7.6. ADVANTAGES OF DOING BUSINESS WITH LOCAL SMES ......................................................................... 132 7.7. CHALLENGES FACED BY PARASTATALS DEALING WITH LOCAL SMES ...................................................... 132 7.8. POSSIBLE IMPROVEMENTS IN THE TENDERING PROCESSES .................................................................... 134 7.9. PARASTATALS SUMMARY FINDINGS........................................................................................................ 135 7.10. CONCLUSIONS ..................................................................................................................................... 137

8.0. BIBLIOGRAPHY ....................................................................................................................... 138

APPENDIX ............................................................................................................................................. 139

GOVERNMENT DEPARTMENTS TABLES ........................................................................................... 139

LOCAL GOVERNMENT TABLES ........................................................................................................ 150

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COUNCILS TABLES .............................................................................................................................. 159

PARASTATALS TABLES ........................................................................................................................ 178

SMES QUESTIONNAIRE ...................................................................................................................... 189

CENTRAL AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT QUESTIONNAIRE ......................................................... 203

PARASTATAL QUESTIONNAIRE ..................................................................................................... 212

LIST OF RESPONDENTS- SMALL MEDIUM ENTERPRISES .......................................................... 222

LIST OF RESPONDENTS: MINISTRY DEPARTMENTS .................................................................. 226

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List of acronyms used BTC Board Tender Committee

CSO Central Statistics Office

CTB Central Tender Board

DATC District Administration Tender Committees

DRIM Director, Research and Information Management

ICB International Competitive Bidding

LPP Local Procurement Programme

MTC Ministerial Tender Committees

NCB National Competitive Bidding

PPA Public Policy Analyst

PPADB Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Board

SMEs Small Medium Enterprises

UB University of Botswana

WUC Water Utilities Corporation

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List of Tables Table 3.1: VAT Registered SMEs that have won tenders by Location

Table 3.2: Legal Status of SMEs by Location

Table 3.3: Legal status by Employment

Table 3.4: No. of 100% Citizen-owned that have won tenders

Table 3.5: Tenders won by non-citizen businesses

Table 3.6: Year of Business Establishment by Town/Village

Table 3.7: Year Established by Number of tenders won

Table 3.8: SMEs by sector and location

Table 3.9: Employment by Economic Sector

Table 3.10: Business ownership by Employment

Table 3.11: Additional markets for SMEs expansion

Table 3.12: Factors that could improve SMEs ability to service additional markets

Table 3.13: SMEs that have won government and/or parastatals tenders by location

Table 3.14: Frequency of tendering for Government and Parastatals contracts

Table 3.15: Distribution of Information on Government and Parastatal Tenders

Table 3.16: Distribution of Information on Government and Parastatal quotations

Table 4.1: Number of Government Departments Enumerated

Table 4.2: Product and Services frequently bought by Ministries

Table 4.3: Source of products by Government Departments

Table 4.4: Purchase of stationery frequency

Table 4.5: Perceptions about the Pricing of stationery by departments

Table 4.6: Source of Cleaning Materials by departments

Table 4.7: Perceptions about the delivery times of cleaning material by departments

Table 4.8: Frequency of Purchase of Foodstuffs

Table 4.9: Source of Foodstuffs by departments

Table 4.10: Perceptions about the quality of foodstuffs by Ministry

Table 4.11: Perceptions about the Pricing of Foodstuffs by Ministries

Table 4.12: Perceptions about the delivery times of foodstuffs by departments

Table 4.13: Perceptions about the quality of office furniture by departments

Table 4.14: Perceptions about the delivery times of office furniture by departments

Table 4.15: Frequency of Purchase of Protective Clothing by Ministries

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Table 4.16: Source of Protective Clothing by departments

Table 4.17: Perceptions about the Quality of Protective Clothing by departments

Table 4.18: Perceptions about the Pricing of Protective Clothing by departments

Table 4.19: Perceptions about the delivery times of protective clothing by departments

Table 4.20: Procurement preferences to local SMEs by Ministries

Table 4.21: Ways of addressing the challenges

Table 5.1: Essential Products identified by respondents

Table 5.2: Expenditure Summary for 2005/6 & 2006/7

Table 5.3: Payment Times per number of respondents

Table 6.1: Councils frequently procured Products & Services

Table 6.2: Cleaning materials frequency of purchase and rating

Table 6.3: Products and Services preferred from SMEs

Table 7.1: Products and Services frequently procured by parastatals

Table 7.2: Parastatals summary expenditure for 2005/6 and 2006/7

Table 7.3: Products and Services procured from foreign businesses

Table 7.4: Advantages of doing businesses with local SMEs

Table 7.5: Challenges faced by parastatals with SMEs procurement

Table 7.6: Tendering processes improvements

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List of Annexes

A4.1: Essential Products and Services Purchased by Government Departments

A4.2: Source of Stationery by Departments

A4.3: Perceptions about the quality of Stationery by departments

A4.4: Perceptions about the delivery times of stationery by departments

A4.5: Purchase of cleaning materials frequency

A4.6: Perceptions about the quality of Cleaning materials by departments

A4.7: Perceptions about the Pricing of cleaning materials by departments

A4.8: Frequency of purchase of office furniture

A4.9: Perceptions about the Pricing of office furniture by departments

A4.10: Source of Office Furniture by departments

A4.11: Products and Services Departments would prefer to buy from local SMEs

A4.12: Challenges faced by government departments when dealing with SMEs

A4.13: Possible Improvements in the Tendering Processes by the Government

Departments

A4.14: Advantages of doing business with SMEs

A4.15: Terms and Conditions imposed on Suppliers

A4.16: Preferred Products and Services from local SMEs

A5.1: Frequency of buying essential products/services

A5.2: Sources of supply per essential product/service

A5.3: Rating of SMEs product quality

A5.4: Pricing of products/services by source of procurement

A5.5: Local SMEs Delivery times

A5.6: Priority for procurement from SMEs

A5.7: Products/services preferred from local SMEs

A5.8: Products and Services procured from foreign businesses

A5.9: Advantages of doing business with local SMEs

A5.10: Challenges faced with SMEs procurement

A5.11: Addressing challenges faced when purchasing from SMEs

A5.12: Tendering processes improvements

A6.1: Enumerated Councils

A6.2: Challenges for Councils Preferring to buy from SMEs

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A6.3: How Councils who Prefer local SMEs Procurement address Challenges

A6:4: Suggested Tendering Processes Improvements

A6.5: Furniture frequency of purchase and Rating

A6.6: Vehicle Spares frequency of Purchase and Rating

A6.7: Building Materials frequency of purchase and rating

A6.8: Percentage change of total expenditure between the two financial years

A6.9: Actual change of total expenditure between the two financial years (Pula)

A 6.10: Expenditure by company size/government.

A 6.11: Top Expenditure Items

A6.12: Councils expenditures by products 2005/06

A6.13: Councils expenditures by products 2006/07

A6.14: Ministry of Education Expenditures

A.6.15: Ministry of Health Expenditure

A6.16: Ministry of Agriculture Expenditure

A6.17: Ministry of Local Government Expenditure

A6.18: Ministry of Works and Transport Expenditure

A7.1: Enumerated Parastatals

A7.2: Parastatals frequently procured products and services

A7.3: Frequency of Purchase of Essential products

A7.4: Parastatals Expenditure for 2005/6

A7.5: Parastatals Expenditure for 2006/7

A7.6: Quality of products by Source of Procurement

A7.7: Pricing of products and services

A7.8: Quality of products by pricing

A7.9: Response to Challenges when dealing with SMEs

A7.10: Products and Services by Value

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List of Figures Figure 3.1: Legal Status of SMEs

Figure 3.2: Main Consumers of SMEs Products and Services

Figure 3.3: Performance of SMEs in meeting Contract Obligations

Figure 3.4: People who prepare tender documents

Figure 3.5: Responses on Complexity of Tendering Processes

Figure 3.6: Types of Financial Reports Prepared by SMEs

Figure 4.1: Departments’ payment times

Figure 5.1: Sources of Purchased Products & Services Figure 5.2: Local government Procurement policies

Figure 6.1: Stationery frequency of Purchase and Rating

Figure 6.2: Foodstuffs frequency of Purchase and Rating

Figure 6.3: Quality of Frequently procured Products & Services

Figure 6.4: Pricing of frequently procured Products & Services

Figure 6.5: Expenditure Share of products to total councils’ expenditure

Figure 7.1: Sources of frequently procured products and services

Figure 7.2: Local SMEs delivery times

Figure 7.3: Parastatals payment times

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1.0. Introduction

1.1. Background The Small Business Act, Act No. 7 of 2004 section 4 (c) states one of the functions of the

Authority as being to “create growth opportunities for SMMEs through securing greater access

to Government procurement contracts for goods and services, in consultation with Government

Ministries, local authorities and parastatal organizations”.

In line with this statutory function, the aim of the study is to assess the level of procurement of

goods and services from the SMEs by government and parastatals, to enable the LEA to identify

and create opportunities for SMEs participation in Government and parastatals procurement

contracts. It will also assist the LEA in addressing the challenges faced by SMEs in their efforts

to secure tenders from government and parastatals institutions. The study also requires the

identification of policies, regulations and processes affecting SMEs access to government and

parastatal procurement contracts and identify opportunities for increased local SMEs

participation in Government and parastatal tendering processes.

Government is the largest consumer of goods and services in the country. For the period 2005/6

government’s final consumption was approximately P11,8 billion (CSO, 2007). This represents

a substantial procurement market for the SMEs sector which, if explored could contribute

significantly to the growth and sustenance of the SMEs.

Through the Local Procurement Programme (LPP), government has deliberately set aside 30%

of its procurement budget and that of government parastatals for local firms. This has further

been facilitated by the issuing of guidelines on the use of locally manufactured goods and

services by the Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Board (PPADB) assuming that these

goods are locally available (Research ICT Africa, Sebusang M Sebusang 2005/6).

It is usually assumed that SMEs are in most cases disadvantaged by their small size, lack of

tendering skills, resources and expertise, lack of information on tendering bids, and the

complexity of tendering processes to compete for tendering contracts. It is thus imperative to

determine the extent to which SMEs in Botswana are predisposed to these factors and their

impact on their performance and access to the procurement market.

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Establishing the government and parastatal organizations’ procurement level from the SMEs

would assist the SMEs to identify their niche market and concentrate on growing volumes within

their areas of developed expertise. It will also assist the LEA to make informed decisions when

carrying out its interventions.

Importantly, this study provides baseline information on the level of procurement of goods and

services by five government ministries and parastatals from the SMEs. The targeted ministries

are the Ministries of Education, Local Government, Health, Works and Transport and

Agriculture. These are the ministries with the highest recurrent budgets during 2005/6 and

2006/7 financial years. The study also tries to find out if the existing government procurement

requirements ensure that the SMEs have an appropriate opportunity to access government

procurement contracts.

1.2. Rationale The study will provide baseline information on the level of procurement from the SMEs by

selected government ministries and parastatals in Botswana. This will facilitate the effective

measurement and monitoring of the impact of LEA interventions in improving SMEs access to

Government contracts for goods and services over time.

1.3. Literature review

1.3.1. The role of the Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Board (PPADB)

PPADB was established by an Act of Parliament as an independent authority responsible for the

coordination and management of public procurement of works, supplies and services for

government and to dispose public assets. The Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Act (Cap.

42:08) became effective in 2002. Under this Act, the PPADB replaced the Central Tender Board

(CTB). PPADB is mandated to ensure an efficient, fair, accountable and competitive

procurement and disposal process in the country. The decisions of the PPADB must represent

the interests of its stakeholders who are the public, the private sector, government and donors.

PPADB is also responsible for the promotion of citizen empowerment through the

implementation of reservation and preference schemes promulgated by Government. The Act

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stipulates that procuring and disposing entities should comply with the reservation and

preference schemes when preparing and evaluating bid proposals.

The PPADB has as at 2007 established 14 Ministerial Procurement and Asset Disposal

Committees [commonly known as Ministerial Tender Committees (MTC)] in various

government ministries to manage all aspects of public procurement and the asset disposal

process of the departments in each Ministry. The MTCs administer and adjudicate tenders to the

tune of P5 million, a financial ceiling which came into effect on 1 April 2008 (Finnigan J.T.

2008).

The District Administration Tender Committees (DATC) were also set up to conduct public

procurement and asset disposal at the district level. The main role of these committees is to

adjudicate and award tenders in line with the PPADB Act. PPADB periodically reviews the

responsibilities (including the financial ceilings) of these committees. As at 2007, 22 DATC have

been established and were operational countrywide. The monetary threshold levels for the

DATC is P500,000. These are fixed and are subject to change every two years.

The Independent Complaints Review Committee, which is a body independent of the PPADB,

has also been established to assess and review decisions made by PPADB since these may be

challenged by the aggrieved stakeholders from time to time. According to the PPADB Act, this

Independent Committee deals with challenges and complaints by contractors arising at any time

in the procurement and asset disposal process. It assists in resolving disputes between the

contractors and ministries (departments).

There is also an Advisory Committee which was launched in 2006, whose mandate is to make

improvements to the PPAD Act and its regulations; improvements in the management of the

public procurement and asset disposal system and the coordination and standardization of the

policies and practices of PPADB with those of the other public entities such as Local Authorities

and Parastatals in the interests of efficiency and effectiveness.

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1.3.2. The PPADB Procurement Process The procurement process as set out in the PPADB Act is mandatory and has to be followed by

all government entities. However, the Act does not make a clear determination as to whether

the procurement process also applies to the parastatals, as may be the expectation to the extent

that parastatals are funded by the government.

The formal procurement process as laid out in the PPADB document begins with the planning

decision to purchase. The starting point will normally involve a needs analysis in relation to the

planned procurement action, getting the necessary approval within the ministry or parastatal to

proceed with the procurement action and making sure that funds are available for the intended

purchase.

Once the funds have been approved, the procuring entity (normally government departments)

will decide on the most appropriate procurement method. Purchasing could be done through

public/formal, informal, selective or single sourcing depending on the nature of the purchase.

1.3.3. Bidding Methods In utilizing the following bidding methods the reservation and preference schemes must be

observed and adhered to.

Public/Formal Bidding: this method of bidding is used for purchase of goods and services

valued over P100, 000. it is stated that participation of bidders in this method of bidding is

unrestricted. The bids are publicized by advertising nationally through the National Competitive

Bidding (NCB) process for a 4 week period and or internationally through the International

Competitive Bidding (ICB) for a 6 week period through the print media of wide circulation and

in the Government gazette.

Informal Bidding: this method of bidding is used for purchase of goods and services valued

under P100, 000. At least five quotations have to be requested under the informal bidding

method.

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Selective: This method allows a number of capable bidders to be invited to submit tenders to

the concerned ministry. However a list of participating bidders with criteria for selecting such

contractors has to be approved by PPADB prior to inviting bidders.

Single Sourcing: under single sourcing the direct appointment of the company to supply goods

and services should be approved by PPADB. The request should include justification for direct

appointment, procurement value estimate, and the technical and financial capabilities of the

preferred suppliers.

1.3.4. Bid Opening All bids are opened publicly in the presence of bidders or their representatives. The bids will

then be evaluated and the most competitive bidder will be awarded the tender by the PPADB.

To close out the project, the concerned ministry is required to submit an end of activity report to

PPADB at the end of each project for purposes of assessing the performance of the contractors.

1.4. Preference Policy and Reservation Scheme The PPADB Regulations of 2006 promulgated by the PPADB Act (Cap. 42:08) stipulates that

government entities and non government bodies financed by the government should, where a

preference policy and reservation scheme exists, clearly bring such to the attention of the of the

bidders/or service providers.

According to these regulations if the preference policy is in favour of the citizens and local

providers, PPADB and its committees should inform the potential bidders/or service providers

of such a preference or reservation. The potential service providers/bidders are usually informed

through the media. Preference is normally based on local procurement, use of special national

standards and such other preferences as the government may deem appropriate from time to

time.

The PPADB has the authority to terminate any contract which has not adhered to the citizen

and local provider empowerment requirements. However it should be noted that the PPAD Act

(Cap.42:08) and the Regulations of 2006, are silent on empowerment specifically targeting the

local SMEs.

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1.5. Procurement Procedures in Parastatals While the initial aim of the study was to interrogate all procurement procedures in parastatal

organizations this could not be achieved as most of these organizations stated that their

procurement procedures were internal documents and hence they could not avail them to LEA.

The study only managed to get hold of procedures from LEA, Water Utilities Corporation

(WUC) and the University of Botswana. It is important to note that the procurement procedures

of LEA, UB and WUC do not provide for the promotion of SMEs through the implementation

of reservations or preference schemes. In addition, the lack of reservation and preference

schemes seems to imply that parastatal organizations may not be governed by the PPADB Act in

developing and implementing their procurement procedures; to the extent that the PPADB Act

makes reference to their implementation, while silent on empowering the SME sector.

1.5.1. Water Utilities Corporation Procurement Procedures

According to the WUC procurement procedures it is not compulsory to get quotations when the

value of the procurement of goods and services is less than P200.00. Requests for quotations are

done through an informal method of procurement for goods and services where the value ranges

from P200.01 to P100 000. The request is done by directly contacting three suppliers without a

formal tender invitation to submit quotations. Tenders are classified as either open or selective

tenders. The open tenders are advertised in the media and or the government gazette. Selective

tenders are for specified or pre-qualified providers subject to approval of the Management or

Board Tender Committees.

For procurement exceeding P250,000 in value, formal tendering is mandatory and permission to

tender is sought from the MTC and BTC.

1.5.2. University of Botswana (UB) Procurement Procedures

According to UB procurement procedures, purchases of between P1-P50 000 may be done

without reference to tender procedures. Three quotations should be requested from different

suppliers. The authorization of such procurement is at the discretion of the Deputy Director of

Business Services and the Deputy Director Financial Planning.

Purchases between P50 001 to P500 000 are carried out in line with the informal tender

procedures. These procedures require that three quotations for the stated value be approved by

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the Head of Department in consultation with the Business Services Office and Deputy Director

Financial Planning without prior reference to the Tender Committee.

Formal tender procedures are done for purchases of between P500 001 and P10,000, 000. These

have to be approved by the Tender Committee.

1.5.3. Local Enterprise Authority Procurement Procedures

With regard to the LEA procurement procedures informal tenders or request for quotations

may be done to the tune of P100,000 without authority from the Management Tender

Committee (MTC). The MTC presides over tenders valued between P100,000 and P500,000.

Any requests or purchases exceeding P500,000 require the authorization of the Board Tender

Committee.

1.6. Structure of the report

Chapter 1 gives the background, literature review and the rationale of this study. Chapter 2

discusses the research objectives, methodology and limitations. The findings are discussed in

chapter 3. The findings are discussed in three separate headings being; SMEs, Parastatals and

Government (local and central) findings. The conclusions and recommendations are in chapter

4.

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2.0. Research objectives and methods

2.1. Research objectives I. Determine the extent to which local SMEs participate in Government and Parastatals

tendering processes.

II. Identify current challenges faced by the SMEs in tendering for government and

parastatals procurement contracts.

III. Identify policies, regulations and processes affecting SMEs access to government and

parastatal procurement contracts.

IV. Identify opportunities for increased local SMEs participation in Government and

Parastatal tendering processes

2.2. Methodology To address both the demand and supply for products and services, two different types of

questionnaires were designed for data collection. The SME questionnaire focused on capturing

information from SMEs and the parastatals/government questionnaire captured information

from parastatals, local and central government. The study population was all parastatal

organisations in the country, five government ministries with the highest recurrent budget for

2005/6 -2006/7 financial years (Budget Speech 2007) and sampled SMEs who have won tenders

in the country (DIA database). The study methodology adopted was a largely quantitative survey

based on administered questionnaires.

2.3. Sampling

2.3.1. Government Ministries Government is the main consumer of goods and services in the country. It was anticipated that

the volume of data to be captured vis-a-vis the budget allocated for the study and time available

could not allow the research team to cover the full scope of government entities in depth. As

such a decision was taken to conduct a case study of selected ministries with the highest

recurrent expenditure budget for 2005/6-2006/7 financial years.

Five ministries with the highest recurrent budget for 2005/6-2006/7 financial years were selected

and all departments under each selected ministry were targeted. Furthermore the study team

decided to exclude other departments considered to be too small and far to be reached due to

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resource constraints, out of 372 government departments targeted, 289 government

departments, 8 Councils, and 5 sub districts were enumerated.

The research team had planned to use two sources of data being the Department of Industrial

Affairs (DIA) database and the survey instruments. It was later realised that there were gaps in

the DIA database, leading to the decision to get whatever information is available and fill the

gaps with what could be obtained in the field. The gaps identified showed that not all

government departments report to DIA. The few departments that report, do so inconsistently.

Furthermore, they don’t report all their expenditures, hence the database did not have all the

required information.

2.3.2. Parastatals The study targeted all 33 parastatals in the country. Both for profit generating parastatals such as

WUC and BPC and not for profit making organisations like UB, LEA and BOTA were

interviewed. The study managed to enumerate only 24 parastatals giving the response rate of

73%.

2.3.3. Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) SMEs that have tendered for government and or parastatals procurement from April 2005-

March 2007 financial years were selected from the DIA database and the BOCCIM membership

list. Of the 1 348 identified SMEs, 224 contacts were available. Since SMEs are highly mobile,

it was not easy to trace some of the targeted SMEs. In most cases, the SMEs that were selected

were either no longer in operation or they had changed the telephone numbers available in the

register of the Registrar of Companies.

This resulted in the realisation of the reduced sample of only 153 SMEs out of 224 that could be

reached since their contacts were available.

2.4. Design of the Survey Instruments

In an effort to ensure a good response rate, the instruments were designed to be administered by

Research Officers and the temporary Research Assistants. The officers were trained on how to

administer them to try to minimize the errors in the responses.

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2.5. Pre-testing of the Survey Instruments

The pre-testing of the questionnaires was done to assess whether the questions addressed the

terms of reference of the study.

The questions were reviewed to incorporate the experiences from the pre-testing. The pre-

testing also revealed that questions that sought to appreciate the total value of the products and

services procured in 2005/6 and 2006/7 financial years required separate data collection tools for

them to be answered adequately. As such, a table was developed to cater for these questions. It

also transpired that more time was going to be required for the completion of these two

questions since data for two financial years had to be extracted from the files and interrogated.

As a result of these pre-test findings more resources were employed to try and expedite the

study.

2.6. Coding and Classification

After completing data collection, a coding scheme was developed in order to have consistent

responses and to assist in the data entry and analysis processes. The classification of districts,

towns and villages was based on the Administrative districts for government departments.

2.7. Data Capture

The data from the field was captured using CSPro software and later exported into the SPPS for

analysis.

2.8. Data analysis

A data entry system was developed using the statistical software, CSPro, in line with the

questionnaires developed. This was followed by data cleaning and recoding where necessary for

open-ended questions.

Once the data cleaning exercise was completed, cross tabulations and frequencies were run in

line with the tabulation plan that was initially developed in line with the terms of reference of the

study.

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2.8. Limitations

1. The results of the study cannot be inferred/generalized to the rest of the government

procuring entities because it targeted only five ministries. So inferring may result in

estimation error.

2. The scope of the study had to be narrowed to few government ministries, specifically

five ministries with the highest recurrent for 2005/6 and 2006/7 financial year budget

allocation i.e. ministry of education, agriculture, local government, health, and ministry of

works and transport. This was due to the limited time allocated to deliver the project and the

budget constraints.

3. Since SMEs are highly mobile, it was not easy to trace some of the targeted SMEs.

4. The departure of almost all initially recruited and trained temporary assistants to Central

Statistics Office when the study was on-going due to better salaries had an adverse impact on

the data collection schedule. This necessitated the recruitment of new assistants.

5. Poor record keeping in some government departments precluded access to all the

required information for the study. Some of the records were either not available or were not

arranged in a systematic order making it very difficult to collect such data.

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3. SMEs Results and Findings

3.1 .Organisational Profiles

3.1.1. Location of SMEs interviewed

A total of 153 SMEs located in different parts of the country participated in the study. These

SMEs have tendered for either government or parastatals’ procurement contracts. Most of (103)

of these SMEs were located in Gaborone. Francistown had six respondents and Selibe Phikwe,

Maun, Kasane, Molepolole and Jwaneng each had five SMEs that participated.

3.1.2 Legal Status and Employment of SMEs The study results show that (89%) of the SMEs are registered companies and the majority of

these are located in Gaborone and surrounding villages. This is followed by sole proprietors at

(5%) and SMEs that are registered as partners at (4%). One Cooperative was interviewed in

Gantsi and one trust in Gaborone.

Figure 3.1 Legal Status of SMEs

The results further show that registered companies employ most people on a full time basis. The

136 company Pty (Ltd) registered businesses employ 5110 employees (See Tables 3.1 and 3.2.

below). Most of these employees were full time employees at 4585 with 438 being part time

employees. The 7 SMEs that are in partnership employed 97 full time employees. They did not

retain temporary, unpaid or part time employees. Eight sole proprietorships interviewed on the

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other hand had six (6) temporary and two (2) part time employees besides the 72 full time

employees.

Table3.1. Legal Status of SMEs by Location

Town/Village C

omp

any

Pty

(Ltd

)

Par

tner

ship

Sole

P

rop

riet

or

Coo

per

ativ

e

Tru

st

Tot

al

Gaborone 99 1 2 - 1 103 Francistown 6 - - - - 6 Selebi Phikwe 5 - - - - 5 Kasane 5 - - - - 5 Maun 3 1 1 - - 5 Mahalapye 3 1 - - - 4 Palapye 3 - 1 - - 4 Serowe 2 - - - - 2 Tsabong - - 1 - - 1 Molepolole 3 2 - - - 5 Jwaneng 2 2 1 - - 5 Sebina 1 - - - - 1 Kang 2 - 1 - - 3 Gantsi 2 - 1 1 - 4 Total 136 7 8 1 1 153

Table 3.2 Legal status by Employment Legal Status Full Time

Employees Part Time Employees

Unpaid Employees

Temporary Employees

Total

Company Pty(LTD) 4377 438 2 76 4893 Partnership 97 0 0 0 97 Company Sole Proprietor 72 2 0 6 80 Cooperative 6 0 0 0 6 Trust 33 0 0 1 34 Total 4585 440 2 83 5110

3.1.3 Nationality of SMEs’ owners

Most of the SMEs at (55%) are hundred percent owned by citizens with (45%) partially owned

by non-citizens. Of these non-citizen owned businesses, (47%) are majority-owned by foreigners

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followed by those that are majority-owned by citizens at (21%), equal shares ownership (i.e.

citizen 50% and non-citizen 50%) at (12%) and 100% foreign-owned at (21%). Those SMEs that

are 100% foreign owned account for (21%) of the respondents and these are in the services and

manufacturing sectors, supplying a wide range of products and services such as stationery,

computers, office equipment and supplies, cleaning materials and toiletry. The provision of

goods and services such as stationery, cleaning materials and even toiletry is done by foreign

owned companies.

Table 3.3: Business ownership by tenders won

Ownership Won tender Never won tender Total

100% citizen-owned 79 5 84 Not 100% citizen-owned 61 8 69 Total 139 13 153

The results further indicate that the tenders are won mostly (56%) by 100% citizen-owned

businesses as compared to (44%) won by not 100% citizen-owned businesses. In the 61 not

100% citizen-owned businesses, most of the tenders are won by companies with the foreign

majority shareholders, followed by those businesses that are owned solely by foreigners. The

tenders won are therefore not biased towards the partially non-citizen businesses, they are mostly

won by 100% citizen businesses.

Of interest is that most of the citizen-owned businesses (84%) that prepare income statements

have mainly won tenders in the government departments and parastatals compared to the (16%)

who prepare the income statements but never won tenders.

Table 3.4.: Number of Not 100% Citizen-owned businesses that have won tenders

Ownership Won tenders

Never won tender Total

Majority Citizens 13 0 13 Majority Foreigners 27 6 33 Fifty-Fifty 7 1 8 100% Foreign Owned 14 1 15 Total 61 8 69

3.1.4. Number of Years of Operation and VAT Registration

3.1.4.1. Years of Operation

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Table 3.5 below shows that (56%) of these SMEs were established between 1996 and 2005 and

these are mainly in Gaborone, this is followed by those that started operation between 1986 and

1995 at (22%). The type of businesses that have been in operation for more than 20 years

provide services such as printing services, IT services, vehicle maintenance, spare parts, electrical

installation, cleaning services and machinery repair and service etc.

The analysis further show on table 3.6 below that businesses established between 1996 and 2005

have won the majority (55%) of the tenders and selected to supply. This is followed by those that

started operation between 1986 and 1995 at (22%). Businesses that were established between

2006 and 2008 have all been selected to supply goods and services at some point. Most probably

because during this period Government had activities that requires the goods and services.

Table 3.5.: Year of Business Establishment by Town/Village

Location Year Established

Gab

oron

e

Fra

ncis

tow

n

Sele

bi P

hik

we

Kas

ane

Mau

n

Mah

alap

ye

Pal

apye

Sero

we

Tsa

bon

g

Mol

epol

ole

Jwan

eng

Seb

ina

Kan

g

Gan

tsi

Tot

al

1960 - 1975 9 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 11 1976 - 1985 15 3 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 21 1986 - 1995 25 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 2 2 0 1 0 33 1996 - 2005 55 2 1 3 5 3 3 0 1 3 2 1 2 4 85 2006 -2008 0 0 0 2 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 Total 103 6 5 5 5 4 4 2 1 5 5 1 3 4 153

Table 3.6.: Year Established by Number of tenders won

Years Tender Selected to Supply Both Total

1960-1975 4 0 5 9 1976-1985 6 4 9 19 1986-1995 11 0 20 31 1996-2005 24 27 25 76 2006-2008 0 4 0 4

Total 45 35 59 139

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3.1.4.2. Value Added Tax (VAT) Registration The majority of the SMEs interviewed (98%) have registered for VAT. The (2%) SMEs that

have not registered for VAT have not done so because they have a turnover of less than

P250,000 per annum, while others did not register because they are fairly new in the business.

These are mostly SMEs in the services sector providing services such as catering, food stuffs,

stationery, tour services and school attire.

Most of the VAT registered businesses have won tenders between 2005/6 and 2006/7 financial

years to provide IT equipment (15%), Stationery (12%), Foodstuff (8%) and Construction works

(6%). From the 10 non-VAT registered businesses only two of them have won tenders to

provide school clothing and transport.

The VAT registered businesses have also won to supply through request for quotations

stationery (9%), Food stuff (8%), IT equipment (7%) and vehicle spare parts (4%).

According to table 3.7 below most of the VAT registered SMEs have won tenders and also have

been selected to supply (42%). This is followed by the SMEs that have won tenders only at

(32%) and those that have been selected to supply through quotations at (25%).

Table 3.7. : VAT Registered SMEs that have won tenders by Location

District Tender Selected to Supply Both Total

Southeast 37 15 39 91 Kweneng 2 1 2 5 Southern 2 0 3 5 Kgalagadi 1 0 2 3 Ghanzi 0 4 0 4 North West 1 3 1 5 Chobe 0 5 0 5 Central 1 6 9 16 North East 1 1 3 5 Total 45 35 59 139

3.1.5. Classification of SMEs by Economic Sector

The economic sectors that this study concentrated on are the ones that the LEA has identified as

niche sectors namely; Agriculture, Services, Tourism and Manufacturing. According to Table 3.8

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below most of the businesses are in the services sector (78%) and these are mainly in Gaborone.

These enterprises provide vehicles spare parts, cleaning services, business process outsourcing,

and security services etc.

In terms of other sectors, (19%) of the SMEs are in the manufacturing sector providing vehicle

spare parts and maintenance and very few respondents are in the agriculture and tourism sectors

at 4% and 2% respectively. The agriculture based businesses provide stock feed and are also into

pest control. Those in the tourism sector provide air travel services, accommodation and tour

services.

Table 3.8.: SMEs by sector and location

Town/Village Agr

icu

ltu

re

Tou

rism

Serv

ices

Man

ufa

ctu

rin

g

Tot

al

Gaborone 3 1 82 22 108Francistown - - 5 1 6 Selebi Phikwe 1 - 4 - 5 Kasane - - 5 - 5 Maun - - 3 2 5 Mahalapye - - 4 1 5 Palapye 1 - 3 - 4 Serowe - - 2 - 2 Tsabong - - 1 - 1 Molepolole - - 5 - 5 Jwaneng 1 - 3 2 6 Sebina - - 1 - 1 Kang - 1 2 1 4 Gantsi - 1 2 1 4 Total 6 3 122 30 161

Note: Some companies are in more than one sector, hence the total being more than 153

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3.1.6. Employment

3.1.6.1. Employment by Economic Sectors In order to assess the employment level per economic sector of these SMEs, a number of

questions were posed to the SMEs to get information on the type of labour they employ. Most

of the employees are on full-time basis across all the four sectors. The study results showed that

the services sector, (which had the highest number of SMEs interviewed-125) compared to the

other sectors had the largest number of full time employees. It had 3971 full time employees

whereas the manufacturing sector had 1603 employees as shown on table 3.9 below. Almost all

the respondents in the agriculture sector had full time employees at 115 and very few temporary

employees at 6.

It is worth noting that the services and manufacturing sectors have a higher number of part time

and temporary employees as compared to the agriculture and tourism sector. This could be due

to the nature of the service they provide such as security services, catering and cleaning services

which do not necessarily require full time employees.

Table 3.9: Employment by Economic Sector

Sector Full Time Employees

Part Time Employees

Unpaid Employees

Temporary Employees Total

Agriculture 109 0 0 6 115 Tourism 63 2 0 6 71 Services 3515 413 2 41 3971 Manufacturing 1248 325 0 30 1603 Total 4935 440 2 83 5110

3.1.6.2. Employment Levels by Business Ownership From the analysis in table 3.10 below, SMEs that have majority shares foreign owned employ a

higher number of employees. These employ 1839 employees compared to 551 employees in the

majority shares being citizen owned SMEs. The foreign owned businesses provide construction

services, hardware items, stationery and vehicle spare parts as compared to 100% citizen owned

SMEs which provide conference facilities and accommodation, catering, IT services and

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stationery which are not necessarily labour intensive when compared to construction services

provided by not 100% citizen owned businesses.

Table 3.10.: Business ownership by Employment

Ownership Full Time Employees

Part Time Employees

Unpaid Employees

Temporary Employees Total

Majority Citizens 548 1 2 0 551 Majority Foreigners 1476 319 0 44 1839 Fifty-Fifty 239 5 0 0 244 100% Foreign Owned 244 13 0 2 259 Total 4585 440 2 83 5110

3.1.7. Market

3.1.7.1. Main Consumers of products and services The SMEs pointed out that the main consumer of their products and services is the government

of Botswana as indicated by (78%) of the SMEs that were interviewed. The general public is the

second major consumer of SMEs products and services buying from at least (71%) of the

respondents followed by private companies at (65%) and parastatals being the least consumers at

(55%) as illustrated in figure 3.2 below. This is further illustrated by the tender regulations and

procurement procedures of the few parastatals that we managed to access. None of the

parastatals tender regulations demonstrated a deliberate effort by parastatals to purchase from

SMEs in an endeavour to empower local SMEs and the SMEs also mentioned parastatals as its

least consumers.

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Figure 3.2.: Main Consumers of SMEs Products and Services

When asked about the additional markets they would like to enter, SMEs showed interest in

both domestic and foreign markets. In terms of the domestic market, some SMEs would like to

see an increase in the government, parastatals, private companies procure from them. It was,

however, worth noting that 28% of the SMEs stated that they are content with their current

market; i.e. they don’t want any additional markets. This may either imply that some SMEs are

not growth oriented or lack the skills to expand their businesses. Some are, however, interested

in supplying parastatals (20%) and private companies at (19%) as shown on table 3.11 below.

Another interesting finding is that only (5%) of the respondents aspired to supply foreign

markets. One would expect these SMEs to be looking forward to competing in the global market

to widen their market access and increase their profitability. LEA should instil the spirit of

competition and growth amongst SMEs so that they don’t see accessing larger markets as a

challenge but a window of opportunity for growth.

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Table 3.11.: Additional markets for SMEs expansion Additional Markets Frequency Percent Government 31 15 Parastatals 41 20 Private Companies 40 19General Public 24 12None 58 28 Foreign markets 11 5 Churches 1 0.5 Political Parties 1 0.5 Total 207 100

Table 3.12 below illustrates that generally SMEs believe that skilled personnel (29%) could

enable them to provide good service to these additional markets. Similarly improved technology

(18%); quality products (18%); good infrastructure (17%) and timely delivery of products and

services were stated as some of the factors that could improve their capability to service

additional markets.

Table 3.12.: Factors that could improve SMEs ability to service additional markets Factors that could improve service delivery Frequency PercentSkilled personnel 51 28Good infrastructure 29 16Use of improved technology 33 18 Quality products 32 18 Timely delivery 28 17 Support of companies by government 1 0.6Legal empowerment for citizen owned companies 1 0.6 Nothing 3 2Networking 1 0.6Total 179 100

3.1.7.2 Challenges in market penetration by SMEs

1. 32% of respondents stated that the most significant challenge faced by the SMEs

is the fierce competition from other local SMEs, larger companies and foreign companies

in the country which have a better purchasing power at the wholesalers. This tends to

keep their prices low making it difficult for new entrants especially during tendering.

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2. As mentioned by at least (5%) of the respondents, escalation in fuel prices

worldwide has resulted in an increase in prices by suppliers overseas and a corresponding

increase in transport costs, making it difficult for the SMEs to compete.

3. The other major challenge as pointed out by (11%) SME respondents is the of

lack skilled labour affecting their ability to penetrate certain markets, which are already

dominated by the larger businesses retaining a pool of skilled employees and producing

higher quality products.

4. Some parastatals like WUC and LEA have their own contact centres for instance

which could be outsourced to SMEs. (11%) highlighted that High advertising costs and

delivery delays by external suppliers are some of the factors that hinder SMEs to

penetrate the domestic market.

5. Lack of proper infrastructure and ownership of operating space by some SMEs

(3%) and lack of equipment (3%) leaves them with no option but to face high rentals.

This tends to exacerbate their weak financial basis adversely affecting their ability to

compete for larger tenders.

The following are some of the least significant challenges mentioned by SMEs. They each account

for 2% of the responses.

1. SMEs are of the view that certain services such as spraying insecticides in the community

for free alleged to be provided by government should be reserved for SMEs rather than

the government because it crowds-out the SMEs.

2. They believe that they are not given the opportunity to supply in the mining industry

which they see as a potential market which could help grow their businesses.

3. Most of the organizations in the country are said to already have agreements with

external companies to provide them with IT services such as computer networking so it

is not easy for SMEs to penetrate the market.

4. Due to free entry of goods and services from other countries such as South Africa

through the SACU agreements, SMEs mentioned that there is intense competition and

consumers tend to prefer imported goods to locally produced goods. They are of the

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view that preferential and reservation schemes for empowering citizens are not well

implemented.

5. The farming community in the country is said to prefer buying agrochemicals from

outside Botswana because they are said to be cheaper there, so SMEs that supply these

indicated that they don’t get enough customers.

3.1.7.3 Skills required to face competition

The following are common skills required by the SMEs to face competition as mentioned by the SMEs interviewed:

1. Sales and marketing skills (37%)

2. Business management and skills (24%)

3. Good project management skills to ensure that tenders won are carried out effectively

(13%)

4. Good customer service skills (12%)

5. Staff with information and technology skills and who are proficient with products and

services knowledge (10%)

3.1.8 Business Tendering Processes

3.1.8.1 Location and number of SMEs that have won tenders The study targeted SMEs that have tendered in the past. It turned out that 140 SME

repsondentss (92%) have either won tenders or have been selected to supply goods and services

through request for quotations in government and or parastatals. This was expected because the

sampling frame consisted of SMEs that has tendered in the past. Only 8% (13) of the SMEs

interviewed have not won tenders in government and or parastatals. The results further

demonstrate that most of these SMEs are situated in Gaborone; nonetheless, it should be noted

that this may be attributed to the fact that the sample concentrated more in Gaborone. Table

3.14 below also shows that the SMEs that have won tenders or requests for quotations are

located in all the areas that the study covered.

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Table3.13: SMEs that have won government and/or parastatals tenders by location

Town/Village Won tenders

Never won tenders Total

Gaborone 92 11 103 Francistown 5 1 6 Selebi Phikwe 5 5 Kasane 5 5 Maun 5 5 Mahalapye 4 4 Palapye 4 4 Serowe 2 2 Tsabong 1 1 Molepolole 5 5 Jwaneng 5 5 Sebina 1 1 Kang 2 1 3 Gantsi 4 4 Total 140 13 153

3.1.8.2 Meeting Contract Obligations by SMEs As depicted in figure 3.3 below, most of these SMEs (92%) stated that they managed to meet the

contract obligations upon winning the tenders or the quotations to supply. Only (8%) of the

SMEs stated that they failed to meet the contract obligations for several reasons. Some SMEs

pointed out that they did not meet the obligations mainly because their suppliers delivered the

goods late as such failing to meet the agreed dates of delivery. Others said that due to the high

prices of goods and services and the exchange rate fluctuations in general, they failed to meet the

agreements since it was no longer profitable to continue with the tenders won. SMEs also

highlighted issues such as lack of mobilisation money, transport and other required equipment

and machinery to enable them to deliver.

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Figure 3.3.: Performance of SMEs in meeting Contract Obligations

3.1.8.3. Submission of tenders and quotations by SMEs Most of the SMEs (82%) stated that they tender for government contracts whenever tenders are

advertised, others indicated that they only tender once a year (11%) whereas other tender twice a

year (4%) or quarterly (3%).

In the case of parastatals contracts, they mentioned that in most cases they tender whenever

tenders are advertised (87%) whilst others stated that they tender once a year (6%) or quarterly

(5%).

Table 3.14: Frequency of tendering for Government and Parastatals contracts

Parastatal % Government %

Whenever tenders are advertised 87 82Once a year 6 11 Twice a year 2 4Quarterly 5 3 Total 100 100

The same trend is observed in the frequency for bidding for quotations as was on the requests

for tenders. Most of the SMEs highlighted that they only bid to supply goods and services

whenever quotations are requested by government (94%) and parastatals (93%). This tells us that

the frequency of bidding depends on the availability of tenders.

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3.1.8.4. Access to Information on tenders and quotations Amongst the sources of information on tenders to SMEs, the most popular,as shown on table

3.15 below, is the government gazette at (44%). This is followed by those who find these tenders

in the print media (25%) and selective invitation (13%).

Table 3.15 Distribution of Information on Government and Parastatal Tenders Source of Information Frequency Percentage Print Media 59 25Government Gazette 106 44Government Website 20 8 Verbal 25 10 Selective Invitation 30 13 Total 240 100

On the requests for quotation shown on table 3.16 below, the most commonly used source of

information is requests for quotations mentioned by at least (53%) of the respondents. The

results further illustrate that some SMEs are informed verbally (17%). Whether this form of

communication is a fair way of communicating and has no bias and favoritism remains

questionable. Table 3.16 Distribution of Information on Government and Parastatal quotations Sources of Information Frequency PercentageFormal Requests for Quotations 98 53 Government Gazette 43 23Government Website 11 6Verbal requests 32 17 Total 184 100

Figure 3.4 below demonstrates that ninety-eight percent (98%) of the SMEs stated that their

tender documents are completed by their company representatives. Others use consultants and

family members to prepare the tender documents.

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Figure 3.4.: People who prepare tender documents

3.1.8.5. Tendering Processes Challenges

1. Most of the SMEs pointed out that the government and parastatals tendering processes

are complex (37%) as shown in figure 3.5 below. Those that felt that the tendering

processes are not complex accounted for (32%) and (31%) preferred not to express their

opinion on the complexity of the tendering processes. Although the tender processes

have been highlighted as complex, the majority of the citizen-owned businesses engage

mostly their own employees (98%) in the preparation of these tender documents. The

same observation is made in the case of foreign-owned businesses that also use their own

employees when preparing tender documents. So both citizen and non-citizen owned

businesses do not use consultants to assist them to complete tender documents.

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Figure 3.5.: Responses on Complexity of Tendering Processes

2. The respondents indicated that there are a lot of cumbersome paperwork required from

the SMEs when they submit the tenders. Even some of the SMEs (37%) stated that the

tendering processes are complex, they also stipulated that they have the necessary

resources and expertise to complete the tender documents and quotations. Therefore, the

said complexity of tendering processes cannot be associated with neither lack of

skills/expertise nor resources since these are said to be available as indicated by (80%) of

the SMEs respondents.

3. Having one centralized place for submission of tender documents is not favourable for

SMEs that are far since they have to travel long distance to deliver the proposals.

4. Other SMEs revealed that preparing tender documents is time consuming and expensive

since they are at times required to submit samples of what they are going to supply.

When one links this concern with the one on the location for submission of tenders, the

logistics of preparing and submitting a tender proposal could be challenging more

especially if the SMEs’ place of operation is far.

5. At times the government departments and parastatals are said to just award the lowest

bidder without necessarily assessing the competencies and quality of products or services

that those companies being awarded possess. As such most of the projects fail to meet

their objectives.

6. Pre-requisites such as VAT certificates and income tax clearance certificates discourage

some of the SMEs to tender since they are of the view that the time given to prepare

tender proposals is limited. On the other hand, the government departments do not keep

a database of SMEs or businesses that have tendered before, so they keep on requesting

for the same information like these certificates every time there is a tender.

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7. Even when they lose the bidding, the SMEs suggested that they would like to be given

feedback on their shortcomings, whether it’s their pricing, quality of samples provided or

the overall tender proposal presentation to allow them to improve their proposals for

future bidding.

3.1.9. Preparation of Financial Reports Ninety-five percent (95%) of the respondents indicated that they keep some form of financial

records in their businesses. They prepare various types of records ranging from income

statements and cash flows to management accounts as shown in figure 3.7 below. Only (5%) of

the respondents pointed out that they don’t keep any form of financial records. From the

analysis, it shows that most of the SMEs do prepare financial reports for their businesses which

is a step in the right direction because financial reports play a crucial role in monitoring

performance of businesses regardless of size. Furthermore, the results show that the income

statement is the most commonly (83%) used form of financial reporting among the citizen-

owned businesses, followed by the cash flows (80%). The management accounts are the least

used in the citizen-owned businesses (65%). For not 100% citizen-owned businesses, the least

form of financial reporting is the income statement used by at least (70%) when compared to the

financial statements which are used by (83%) of these type of businesses.

Figure 3.6.: Types of Financial Reports Prepared by SMEs

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3.1.10. SMEs Strategic Partnership The results show that most (87%) of the SMEs have never entered into any form of strategic

partnership and they have also never been sub-contracted by other businesses. The small number

that has entered into strategic partnership only accounted for (13%) and these were sub-

contracted to be agents for companies which sell computers, or companies that design websites

and installing electrical appliances to mention a few. This may be an indication that SMEs don’t

network and form strategic partnerships with larger enterprises or even amongst themselves;

hence the absence of partnering and sub-contracting from large enterprises to SMEs. LEA’s

intentions to promote business linkages between small and large could therefore assist in this

area since a lot still needs to be done.

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3.2. Summary Findings

1. One hundred and fifty three (153) SMEs that have tendered for either government and

or parastatals procurement contracts were enumerated. These SMEs are located all over

the country but the majority are in Gaborone.

2. The results show that (89%) of these SMEs are registered companies and that these

companies employ most of the people on a full time basis.

3. The tenders in government and parastatals are mostly won by citizen companies (56%).

In the not 100% citizen-owned companies, the tenders are won by companies with the

foreign majority shareholding.

4. Most of the citizen-owned businesses (84%) that prepare income statements have won

tenders in the government departments and parastatals.

5. The majority of the SMEs enumerated are in the services sector (78%) and these

businesses provide vehicle spare parts, cleaning services, security services and business

process outsourcing.

6. The SMEs in the services and manufacturing sectors have a higher number of part-time

and temporary employees as compared to the agriculture and tourism sector businesses.

This could be due to the nature of the services they provide like security services,

catering and cleaning services which don’t necessarily require full-time employees.

7. The main consumers of the SMEs products and services are the government of

Botswana (78%) followed by the general public (71%); private companies (65%) and

parastatals (55%).

8. The tender regulations and procurement procedures of the few parastatals we managed

to access don’t demonstrate a deliberate effort by parastatals to purchase from SMEs.

9. The most significant challenge stated by the SMEs (32%), is the intense competition

from other local SMEs larger companies and foreign companies which have a better

purchasing power and hence could afford to keep their prices low.

10. Lack of skilled labour (11%) also is a challenge and it impedes the SMEs to penetrate

certain markets which are already dominated by larger businesses.

11. Other challenges although mentioned by a very insignificant number of SMEs do have

adverse effect on the performance of the SMEs. These include Batswana preferring

imports compared to local produce. The farmers in Botswana preferring to buy

agrochemicals from outside due to the price differences.

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12. Lack of proper infrastructure and operating space and equipment were mentioned by

some of the SMEs and this they mentioned tends to weaken financial stand because

they end up paying high rentals.

13. Most of the SMEs (92%) mentioned that they managed to meet the contract obligations

upon winning the tenders and or quotations to supply. The (8%) that stated that they

did not meet the contract obligations highlighted that it was due to the late delivery of

supplies by their suppliers. Others stated that they failed due to exchange rate

fluctuations which were unfavourable hence it became unprofitable to continue with the

won tender. 14. The government gazette is the most popular (44%) source of information which SMEs

use to access information on tenders. This is followed by those who find tender

information in the print media (25%) and selective invitation (13%). 15. On the case of requests for quotations, (53%) of the respondents mentioned that they

are formally requested for quotations and (23%) stated that they access information

from the government gazette and worth noting (17%) of the SMEs said they are

informed verbally of the requests for quotation. 16. At least (37%) of the SMEs mentioned that the government and parastatals tendering

processes are complex. Although the tender processes are said to be complex most of

these SMEs (85%) engage their own employees when preparing the tender documents

and they mentioned that they have the necessary expertise and resources to complete

the tender documents and quotations.

17. Other challenges include not having an allowance to factor in the price changes once

the tender has been awarded to the SMEs. The tender becomes unprofitable if it takes

many years.

18. The evaluation of tenders takes a long time to the extent that by the time it is awarded

the quoted prices in the proposal would no longer be viable.

19. Government departments and parastatals are said to just award the lowest bidder

without necessarily assessing the competencies and the quality of products and services

that those companies being awarded possess resulting in most projects failing to meet

their objectives.

20. Ninety-five percent (95%) of the participants indicated that they keep some form of

financial records in their businesses. They do various types of records ranging from

income statements and cash flows to management accounts.

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21. Most of the SMEs (87%) have never entered into any form of strategic partnership and

they have also never been sub-contracted by other businesses. Those that have been

sub-contracted were to supply computers, design websites and install electrical

appliances etc.

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3.3. Conclusions This study has established that slightly less than half of the SMEs respondents had participated

in government and parastatals procurement through the tenders and selection to supply goods

and services are VAT registered and mostly concentrated in the South East District The majority

of these SMEs are also citizen owned or are of partnerships between citizens and non citizens.

The SMEs are relatively young with more than half of them having been in operation for at least

a decade ago.

It is encouraging to note that most of the SMEs have gone through the formalities such as

business registration with most of them being Private Limited Companies (Pty Ltd). That

notwithstanding, VAT registration is relatively low among the new establishments. This should

be an intervention opportunity because VAT registration or exemption is one of the major

requirements for accessing government tenders and the SMEs needs to be sensitized on this

basic requirement in view of the fact that SMEs consider the government to be their main

customer. This failure to meet requirements may act as a barrier to the main customer and

negatively affect the business operations.

It should also be of particular concern to organizations such as LEA that some SMEs do not

aspire to expand or grow their businesses. This could be an indication of lack of understanding

of the market and business environment by SMEs. When considered together with the lack of

capacity sometimes highlighted through abandonment of contractual obligations and delivery

failures, this could provide the background for the above scenario. Poor resources and failure to

stand up to the competition in the market are also reported to be major challenges of SMEs and

this therefore raises the need for intervention with a view to improving the SMEs participation

and competitiveness in the business environment.

The government as the main consumer of SMEs goods and services is not without its

contribution to the challenges faced by SMEs. The long payment times by government for goods

and services rendered and the complexities of government tendering systems are the main

obstacles in the SMEs businesses. This could results in extreme cases where SMEs will find the

government procurement being unattractive to most of them. The importance of cash flow

needs not be further emphasized for SMEs. If all these impediments are out of the way, we are

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likely to see the increased participation and market share of SMEs in the procurement

environment.

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Central Government Departments Findings

4.0. Number of Government Departments Enumerated The study covered a total of 289 Government departments, of which (45%) were under the

Ministry of Education, (20%) under the Ministry of Agriculture and (19%) under the Ministry of

Local Government. The Ministry of Works and Transport was represented by (13%) of the

respondents while the Ministry of Health was represented by (3%). Most of the respondents in

the Ministry of Education were schools, 97 enumerated. The participating departments were

nation-wide. A separate report on the Ministry of Local Government has been prepared, so the

discussion in this chapter will only be on the other four ministries selected.

Table 4.1: Number of Government Departments Enumerated

Ministry Departments Percentage

Education 130 45

Agriculture 58 20

Local Government 54 19

Works and Transport 37 13

Health 10 3

Total 289 100

4.1. Essential Products and Services purchased by Government Departments

The respondents indicated that the most essential product they normally purchase is stationery,

at (89%). Cleaning materials is the second most purchased products among the ministries at

(72%), followed by food stuffs at (52%). Office furniture and protective clothing is also

mentioned as essential products among the ministries, with (38%) and (24%) respectively.

Annex 4.1. and table 4.3. on page 53 gives an overview of the essential products and services

purchased by the ministries.

In an endeavour to identify opportunities for SMEs, the departments were asked to indicate the

products and services they would prefer to purchase locally but could not source suppliers. Food

stuffs, stationery, cleaning materials, IT equipment, clothing such as staff uniforms, sportswear,

practical subject materials, machinery spares, repairs and services are some of the products and

10/07/2009

services they would prefer to source locally. From the list of essentials stated, these are some of

the frequently bought and used products and services in the ministries’ departments.

These departments are of the view that doing business with local SMEs suppliers would not only

be promoting citizen empowerment, it will also be advantageous since local SMEs are easily

accessible which could reduce transport costs. Since the suppliers would be local, it would be

easy to communicate with them allowing the departments to assess the samples easily because

they are within reach. Importantly, this could reduce the delivery times. Other benefits

mentioned are that wrongly supplied products could be easily returned and replacements made

immediately. In addition, the pricing of supplies could be reasonable as there won’t be any

customs and exchange rate issues, though it should be noted that the extent that Botswana

imports most of its products and services, this benefit may not be realized. (Refer to A 4.14 in

the appendix).

4.2. Essential products and services in the Ministry of Education

Table 4.2. below shows that within the Ministry of Education, stationery is the most commonly

used product. Given that most of our respondents in this Ministry were schools; it is not

surprising that (97%) of them indicated that stationery is the most essential product, as

textbooks, exercise books and pens are used on a daily basis. The second most essential product

is food stuffs mentioned by at least (85%) of the respondents. Nearly all government aided

schools provide students with meals on a daily basis and boarding schools provide three meals

per day to all boarding learners including weekend days. Cleaning materials were mentioned by

(77%) of the respondents. These were mostly materials used for cleaning schools classrooms.

The respondents also mentioned furniture, (39%), as an essential product. This is mostly

student’s furniture used in the classrooms, office and staff houses’ furniture. The other essential

product were protective clothing,(17%),and practical subjects materials,(14%).These materials are

normally bought for subjects such as Home Economics, Design & Technology and Science.

Annexure 4.1. shows the rest of the products and services mentioned by the respondents.

4.3. Essential products and services in the Ministry of Agriculture The Ministry of Agriculture was represented by 58 departments nation-wide. The most

commonly used product in this Ministry is stationery (78%), which is the standard office

essential in all the government offices. The respondents in this Ministry indicated that the second

most essential product was cleaning materials (66%), followed by furniture with (33%). The

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other essential product was agricultural equipment (29%) like machinery and camping

equipment, and protective clothing at (19%).This is one of those Ministries which provides its

employees, mostly those working in the field, with protective clothing such as overalls, boots and

sun hats.

4.3. Essential products and services in the Ministry of Works and Transport

The Ministry of Works and Transport was represented by 37 departments. Their most essential

product was reported to be stationery at (73%), followed by cleaning materials at (60%).These

products are used mainly for their day to day running of their offices. This Ministry also reported

that building materials as one of its essential products at (43%). This is mainly due to the fact

that Department of Buildings is housed in this Ministry and this department provides service to

all government departments nation-wide. The department is responsible for maintaining

government houses and building new ones. The Ministry also indicated that protective clothing

was also an important essential product, reported by (38%) of the departments. This is probably

for staff members working in the workshops under the Department of Buildings who are

provided with protective clothing.

4.4. Essential products and services in the Ministry of Health The Ministry of Health was represented by 10 departments. All the 10 departments reported that

stationery (100%) was their most essential product. The second most essential product was

cleaning materials, reported by (90%) of the departments interviewed. This was followed by

protective clothing at (50%) and furniture at (40%).

Table 4.2. Products and Services normally bought by Ministry

Products/Servic

es Education Health Agriculture Local Government

Works and

Transport Total

Food Stuffs 85 20 17 44 8 52%

Stationery 97 100 78 89 73 89%

Cleaning

Equipment 4 0 3 6 3 4%

Cleaning Materials 77 90 66 70 60 72%

Toiletry 7 10 12 5 8 8%

Furniture 39 40 33 52 24 38%

Vehicles Spares 1 0 0 15 24 6%

Building Materials 6 0 16 11 43 14%

Plumbing 0 0 2 4 5 2%

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Materials

Fencing Materials 0 0 17 0 0 4%

Protective

Clothing 17 50 19 30 38 24% The percentages were calculated based on the total number of departments, 289, which bought a particular product/service-see

annexure 4.1.

4.5. Source of essential products and services

Table 4.3. Below indicates that most of the departments buy their essential products and services

from local Businesses. The table shows that (94%) of the departments buy their essential

products and services from local businesses followed by 45% of the departments who buy their

essential products and services from the Department of Government Supply.

Table 4.3.: Source of products by Ministry

Ministry

Education Health Agriculture

Local

Government

Works and

Transport Total

Dept % Dept % Dept % Dept % Dept % Dept %

Local

Business 126 44% 10 4% 52 18% 49 17% 35 12% 272 94%

Foreign

Business 2 .7% 0 0% 3 1% 1 .3% 1 .3% 7 2%

Government

Supplies

Department

55 19% 3 1% 30 10% 26 9% 16 6% 130 45%

Local

business and

Foreign

2 .7% 1 .3% 2 .7% 2 .7% 2 .7% 9 3%

Local

Business and

Department

of Supply

55 19% 3 1% 14 5% 14 5% 7 2% 93 32%

Total 130 45% 10 4% 58 20% 54 19% 37 13% 289 100%

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4.6. The most frequently used products

4.6.1. Stationery In all the Ministries that were selected for this study, stationery is the most commonly used

product and hence the most frequently bought by departments. This is followed by cleaning

materials and food stuffs.

Most of these departments (33%) buy stationery on a quarterly basis as shown on table 4.4.

below. Thirty-two percent (32%) of the departments indicated that they buy stationery every

month while some (12%) of the departments reported that they buy stationery bi-annually.

Only (11%) of the respondents indicated that they buy stationery bi-monthly while some (7%) of

the departments buy stationery weekly. None of the departments in all the Ministries wait for

stationery to be finished to purchase it.

Table 4.4.: Frequency Purchase of stationery by Ministry

Ministry

Frequency of

Purchase Education Health Agriculture

Local

Government

Works and

Transport Total

Dept % Dept % Dept % Dept % Dept % Dept %stationery quarterly

40 32% 2 20% 19 42% 17 35% 7 26

% 85 33%

monthly 47 37% 3 30% 9 20% 11 23% 12

44

% 82 32%

twice a

year 11 9% 0 0% 8 18% 7 15% 4

15

% 30 12%

bi-

monthly 19 15% 4 40% 1 2% 5 10% 0 0% 29 11%

Weekly 4 3% 0 0% 5 11% 7 15% 1 4% 17 7%

Daily 2 22% 1 10% 1 2% 1 2% 3

11

% 8 3%

more

than

once a

year

3 2% 0 0% 2 4% 0 0% 0 0% 5 2%

Total 126

100

% 10

100

% 45

100

% 48 100% 27

100

% 256 100%

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In the Ministry of Education (37%) of the respondents indicated that they buy stationery on a

monthly basis whilst (32%) of the departments buy stationery on a quarterly basis as shown on

table 1.5 above. This is followed by those departments that mentioned that they purchase on a

daily basis (22%). Other departments (15%) in this Ministry buy stationery bi-monthly.

A total of 10 departments in the Ministry of Health indicated that stationery is one of their

essential products. Most of the departments (40%) in this Ministry buy stationery twice a month

whereas others stated that they purchase stationery monthly (30%) as shown on table 1.5 above.

Table 1.5 further show that (42%) of the participants in the Ministry of Agriculture, buy

stationery on a quarterly basis while (20%) of the departments buy stationery on a monthly basis.

A total of (18%) of the departments indicated that they buy stationery twice a year while 11.1%

departments buy stationery once a year. There were no departments which reported ever buying

stationery only when needed.

In the Ministry of Works and Transport, (44%) of the departments reported that they buy

stationery on a monthly basis whilst (26%) of the participants buy stationery on a quarterly basis.

Furthermore, (15%) of the departments indicated that they buy stationery twice in a year while

(11%) of the departments buy stationery on a weekly basis.

4.6.2. Main sources of stationery Table 1.6 in the appendix indicates that (53%) of the government departments bought stationery

from the local businesses while (31%) of the departments bought from both the local businesses

and the Department of Government supplies. The table also shows that (15%) of the

departments bought stationery from Department of Government Supplies whilst only (1%) of

the departments bought stationery from foreign businesses.

4.6.3. Sources of stationery by Ministry Most of the departments from the Ministry of Education, (46%), buy their stationery from the

local businesses whilst (40%) of the departments buy their stationery from both the local

businesses and the department of Government Supplies. Annex 4.2 further shows that (13%) of

the departments bought stationery from the Department of Government Supply while (2%) of

the departments bought stationery from foreign businesses.

The Ministry of Health, has two main sources of stationery. These are the local businesses at

(70%) and both the local businesses and the Department of Government Supply at (30%) as

10/07/2009

stipulated in Table 1.6 in the appendix. In this Ministry none of the departments made mention

of purchasing stationery from the foreign businesses.

The results further show that most of the departments in the Ministry of Agriculture at (58%),

bought their stationery from local businesses, whilst (22%) of the departments bought their

stationery from the Department of Government Supply. Other departments buy from both the

local business and the department of Government Supply at (20%). None of the departments in

this Ministry buy stationery from the foreign businesses.

The main source of stationery in the Ministry of Works and Transport is the local businesses

(67%). Other departments buy from both the local businesses and the department of

Government Supply (22%). Some of the departments (7%) buy their stationery solely from the

department of Government Supply whilst (3%) buy from both the local businesses and foreign

businesses. There was no department which solely bought stationery from the foreign businesses

only. (Refer to annex A4.2)

4.6.4. Overall Perceptions of Quality of Stationery from local SMEs

Annex 4.3 shows that most of the government departments, (62%), rated the quality of

stationery as good whilst (21%) of the departments rated it as average. The departments also

rated the quality of stationery as excellent (14%). Only a very insignificant percentage (1%) of

departments rated stationery supplied by local SMEs as of poor quality.

4.6.4.1. Perceptions of Quality of Stationery from local SMEs by Ministries

Annex 4.3 indicates that most of the departments in the Ministry of Education, (64%), rated

quality of stationery from local SMEs as good, while (20%) of the departments rated the quality

of stationery as average. Some of the departments (17%) rated the quality of stationery as

excellent. None of the departments in the Ministry of Education rated the quality of stationery as

either poor or very poor.

Annex 4.3 shows that most of the departments in the Ministry of Health (60%) rated the quality

of stationery from local SMEs as good while (20%) rated it as excellent. Some of the

10/07/2009

departments (20%) rated the quality of stationery as average. None of departments in the

Ministry of Health rated the quality of stationery as either poor or very poor.

Most of the departments in the Ministry of Agriculture are of the view that the quality of the

stationery from the local SMEs is good (60%) as stipulated on table 1.7 in the appendix. This is

followed by those who stated that it is of average quality (31%). Only (3%) of the respondents in

this Ministry rated the stationery quality from local SMEs as poor and none rated it as very poor.

The majority of the participants in the Ministry of Works and Transport rated the quality of

stationery from local SMEs as good (56%) and (32%) rated them as of average quality as shown

on annex 4.3. Eight percent (8%) of the respondents rated it as excellent whilst only (4%) rated

stationery as of poor quality. None of the departments rated the quality of stationery as very

poor.

4.6.4.2. Overall perceptions about the pricing of stationery by all Ministries Departments To find out whether it is cost effective for government departments to purchase from the local

SMEs, they were asked to rate stationery according to the cheap, fair and expensive categories.

Overall, most of the government departments (52%) in all the 5 Ministries are of the view that

stationery is fairly priced and (41%) stated that it is expensive whilst (7%) said it is cheap. (Table

4.5 below)

Table 4.5.: Perceptions about the Pricing of stationery by departments

Ministry


Local

Government

Works and

Transport Total

%

Dep

t %

Dep

t %

Dep

t %

Dep

t %

Dep

t %

Dep

t

stationer

y

Cheap 8% 9 0% 0 6% 2 3% 1 12% 3 7% 15

Fair 51% 54 90% 9 43% 15 47% 18 60% 15 52% 111

Expensiv

e 41% 44 10% 1 51% 18 50% 19 28% 7 41% 89

Total 100

% 107

100

% 10

100

% 35 100% 38

100

% 25

100

% 215

10/07/2009

4.6.4.3. Pricing Perceptions by Ministries Most of the departments in the Ministry of Education, (51%), rated the price of stationery as fair

while (41%) rated it as expensive and only (8%) said stationery from local SMEs is cheap.

Ninety percent (90%) of the departments in the Ministry of Health rated the price of stationery

as fair while 10% rated it as expensive and none of the departments viewed stationery as cheap.

In the Ministry of Agriculture, (51%) of the participants rated the price of stationery as

expensive, while (43%) of the departments rated the price of stationery as fair. Six percent (6%)

of the respondents in this Ministry said that purchasing stationery from local SMEs is cheap.

Ministry of Works and Transport respondents are of the view that stationery is fairly priced at

(60%) whereas (28%) of them rated the price of stationery as expensive and (12%) said that it is

cheap to buy stationery from local SMEs.

4.6.4.4. Adherence to Stationery delivery times by Local SMEs The delivery times of stationery as viewed by the departments received diverse responses as

(58%) of the respondents rating the good to excellent delivery time (depicted on A4.4 in the

appendix) and (13%) giving a rating of poor to very poor delivery time.

In the Ministry of Education, (63%) of the respondents are happy with the delivery times of

stationery since they rated it from good to excellent when compared to (16%) who said the local

SMEs do not adhere to the stipulated delivery times hence rating it poor to very poor.

Most of the participants (90%) in the Ministry of Health seem to be content with the delivery

times of stationery by local SMEs to since they gave it a rating of average to excellent. Only one

respondent gave a rating of poor (10%).

Most of the departments in the Ministry of Agriculture, (40%) rated the delivery times of

stationery by local SMEs as good while (34%) of the departments rated it as average. Some

departments (11%) however, said that the local SMEs don’t adhere to delivery times hence rating

them poor to very poor.

10/07/2009

In the Ministry of Works and Transport, none of the respondents rated the delivery times as very

poor. However, (16%) of the respondents mentioned that the delivery times of local SMEs are

poor. Despite these ratings, most of the participants in this Ministry are pleased with the delivery

times since (84%) rated them from average to excellent.

4.7. Cleaning Materials

Annex 4.5 shows that a total of 207 governments departments regard cleaning materials as one

of their essential products. Most of these departments (54%), buy cleaning materials on a

quarterly basis, while (15%) buy on a monthly basis. There are however, other departments

(12%) that buy their cleaning materials only twice in a year. The results further show that no

departments mentioned buying cleaning materials whenever it is needed.

Table 4.6 below shows that a total of 100 departments in the Ministry of Education reported that

they regard cleaning materials as one of their essential products. Most of the departments in this

Ministry (59%, indicated that they buy cleaning materials on a quarterly basis. Table 4.6 below

shows that (16%) of the respondents in this Ministry indicated that they buy cleaning materials

monthly whilst (12%) of the departments buy cleaning materials twice a month. There was only

one department which reported buying cleaning materials on a weekly basis. Cleaning materials

are an imperative product in this Ministry mainly because the schools, which accounted for a

substantial proportion of the sampling frame, require cleaning materials on a daily basis. These

include liquid soaps, mutton cloths, and floor polishes etc.

A total of 9 out of 10 departments from the Ministry of Health indicated that cleaning materials

is one of their essential products. Table A 4.5 in the annex shows that most of the departments,

(44%) reported buying cleaning materials on a quarterly basis and (11%) of the departments buy

cleaning materials on a monthly basis.

Also in the Ministry of Agriculture, 39 out of 58 departments reported that cleaning materials is

one of their essential products. Table A 4.5 in the annex shows that most of these

departments,(46%), buy most of their cleaning materials on a quarterly basis, while a further

(21%) buy cleaning materials twice a year and (11%) purchase cleaning materials on a monthly

basis.

The Ministry of Works and Transport had 22 out of 37 departments which indicated cleaning

material as one of their essential products. Table A 4.5 in the annex indicates that most of the

10/07/2009

departments, (59%), buy cleaning materials on a quarterly basis, while (18%) buy cleaning

materials on a monthly basis. Some of the departments (9%) buy cleaning materials twice a year

and another (9%) buy bi-monthly. A further (5%) of the departments reported that they buy

cleaning materials on a weekly basis.

4.7.1. Source of Cleaning Materials Table 4.6 below shows that most of the government departments, (53%), buy their cleaning

materials from the local businesses while another (27%) purchase from both the local businesses

and the Department of Government Supplies. The results also show that (19%) of the

respondents buy their cleaning materials from the department of Government supplies while

less than one percent of the departments buy their cleaning materials from the foreign

businesses.

Table 4.6: Source of Cleaning Materials by departments

Ministry


Local

Government

Works and

Transport Total

Dep

t % Dep

t % Dept % Dept % Dept % Dept %

cleaning

material

s

Local

Business 52 52% 6 67% 19 49% 18 47% 15 68% 110 53%

Local

Business

and

Department

of Supply

32 32% 3 33% 10 26% 8 21% 4 18% 57 27%

Governmen

t Supplies

Department

16 16% 0 0% 10 26% 11 29% 2 9% 39 19%

Foreign

Business 0 0% 0 0% 0 0% 0 0% 1 5% 1 .5%

Local

Business

and Foreign

0 0% 0 0% 0 0% 1 3% 0 0% 1 .5%

Total 100

100

% 9 100% 39 100% 38 100% 22 100% 208 100%

10/07/2009

4.7.1.1. Source of Cleaning Materials by Ministry

In the Ministry of Education, the respondents buy cleaning materials from the local businesses

(52%) while (32%) of them buy from both the local businesses and the Department of Supply

and (16%) of the participants buy solely from the Department of Supply. None of the

departments buy cleaning materials from the foreign businesses.

The two main suppliers of cleaning materials in this Ministry is the local businesses (67%) and

both the local businesses and the Department of Supply (33%). None of the departments ever

buy from the foreign businesses.

The same trend is observed in the Ministry of Agriculture where (49%) of the respondents

mentioned that they purchase their cleaning materials from local businesses and Department of

Supply (26%) and both the local businesses and department of supplies (26%). None of the

departments buy cleaning materials from the foreign businesses.

Most of the departments from the Ministry of Works and Transport, (68%), buy cleaning

materials from the local businesses while (18%) buy from both the local businesses and the

Department of Government Supplies and only (5%) of the respondents indicated that they buy

from foreign businesses. See table 4.6 above.

4.7.1.2. Overall Perception of Quality of Cleaning Materials from local SMEs by Departments

According to annex A 4.6, most of the respondents in the selected Ministries are happy with the

quality of the cleaning materials. Fifty-four percent (54%) of the government departments rated

the cleaning materials supplied by local SMEs as of good quality and (11%) rated them as of

excellent quality. However, there are some departments that view the quality of these cleaning

materials as of poor to very poor quality (9%). Despite this, on the overall, the departments in

the different Ministries are content with the quality of the cleaning materials supplied by local

SMEs (91%).

4.7.1.3. Quality of Cleaning Materials from local SMEs

10/07/2009

A4.6 shows that most of the departments in the Ministry of Education,(49%), rated the quality

of cleaning materials from local SMEs as good, while (29%) of them rated the quality of cleaning

materials as average and (12%) as excellent. Only (11%) rated the cleaning materials between

poor and very poor quality.

The majority of the departments in the Ministry of Health were happy with the quality of the

cleaning materials supplied with (89%) rating them good and excellent and (18%) of the

respondents indicating that they are of average quality. None of the departments in the Ministry

of Health rated the quality of cleaning materials as of either poor or very poor quality. (Refer to

A4.6).

Furthermore, A4.6 shows that most of the departments (79%) in the Ministry of Agriculture,

rated the quality of cleaning materials between good and excellent, while (18%) of these

respondents rated the quality of cleaning materials as average. The results also show that (4%) of

the departments rated the quality of cleaning materials as poor and none said the quality of

cleaning materials was very poor.

The same trend is observed in the Ministry of Works and Transport where at least (58%) of the

respondents rated the cleaning material as good to excellent and (26%) said they are of average

quality. This Ministry is the only one among the five Ministries which has a high percentage of

poor quality (16%) of cleaning materials. This may be attributed to the nature of the items that

need to be cleaned, which may require highly specialized cleaning materials than in the Ministry

of Education where a standard cleaning material may be required for cleaning the classrooms.

4.7.1.4. Departments perceptions about the pricing of cleaning materials For pricing, overall, most of the Ministries’ departments are of the view that the cleaning

materials prices are fair (50%) and (6%) said that they were cheap. However, (44%) of the

respondents stated that they are expensive.

In the Ministry of Education, (49%) rated the price of cleaning materials as fair, while (44%) of

the departments rated the pricing as expensive. Only (7%) of the respondents rated them as

cheap. The Ministries of Agriculture and Works and Transport are the ones with the highest

rating of expensive cleaning materials with (50%) and (47%) respectively.

10/07/2009

In the Ministry of Health where one would assume a lot of cleaning materials are used in

hospitals and clinics most of the respondents said they are fairly priced (89%) only (11%) stated

them as expensive. (Refer to A4.7 in the appendix)

4.7.1.5. Departments perceptions about the delivery times of cleaning material by local SMEs

Most of the government departments (47%) across the selected Ministries stated that the delivery

times of cleaning materials by local SMEs is satisfactory whilst (29%) of the departments rated it

as average. Other government departments(13%) rated the delivery of cleaning materials as

excellent. There are other departments who are unhappy with the delivery of cleaning materials

and they gave a rating of poor to very poor (11%). Refer to table 4.7 below.

The Ministry of Works and Transport is the only Ministry amongst the five Ministries which has

stated that the local SMEs don’t adhere to agreed delivery times (16%). Ministry of Education

has the lowest percentage of poor delivery of cleaning materials (9%) and the highest satisfaction

on delivery (57%) overall.

Table 4.7. Perceptions about the delivery times of cleaning material by departments

Ministry


Local

Government

Works and

Transport Total

% Dept % Dept % Dept % Dept % Dept % Dept

cleaning

materials

Very

poor 4% 3 0% 0 7% 2 0% 0 0% 0 3% 5

Poor 5% 4 11% 1 7% 2 11% 3 16% 3 8% 13

Average 21% 18 44% 4 29% 8 41% 11 42% 8 29% 49

Good 57% 49 22% 2 43% 12 41% 11 32% 6 47% 80

Excellent 14% 12 22% 2 14% 4 7% 2 11% 2 13% 22

Total 100% 86 100% 9 100% 28 100% 27 100% 19 100% 169

10/07/2009

4.8. Food Stuffs A total of 150 (out of 289) governments departments reported that food stuffs is one of their

essential products. Mostly, the departments indicated that they buy food stuffs on a monthly

basis reported by (53%) of the departments. The table below shows that (19%) of the

departments buy food stuffs on a quarterly basis while (7%) of the departments buy food stuffs

on a weekly basis. A further (7%) of the departments indicated that they buy food stuffs

whenever a need arises whilst (5%) of the departments buy food stuffs daily. Table 4.8 below

also shows that the number of departments which buy foodstuffs twice a year is the same as

those which buy once a year, (3%).

Table 4.8.: Frequency of Purchase of Foodstuffs

Ministry


Local

Government

Works and

Transport Total

Dept % Dept % Dept % Dept % Dept % Dept %

Foodstuffs monthly 67 60% 1 50% 5 50% 5 21% 1 33% 79 53%

quarterly 18 16% 0 0% 1 10% 8 33% 2 67% 29 19%

bi-

monthly 8 7% 0 0% 2 20% 1 4% 0 0% 11 7%

daily 9 8% 0 0% 0 0% 2 8% 0 0% 11 7%

when

needed 6 5% 0 0% 0 0% 2 8% 0 0% 8 5%

twice a

year 0 0% 0 0% 1 10% 4 17% 0 0% 5 3%

weekly 0 0% 1 50% 1 10% 2 8% 0 0% 4 3%

more

than

once a

year

3 3% 0 0% 0 0% 0 0% 0 0% 3 2%

Total 111 100% 2 100% 10 100% 24 100% 3 100% 150 100%

The Ministry of Education had 111 departments which regard food stuffs as their essential

product. This represents approximately (85%) of the departments within the Ministry of

Education. The data shows that most of these departments are schools, which is not surprising

since nearly all the schools feed their students on a daily basis. The departments indicated that

most of the time they buy food stuffs on a monthly basis, reported by (60%) of the departments

10/07/2009

whereas (16%) of the departments buy food stuffs on a quarterly basis and (8%) of the

departments buy foodstuffs on a weekly basis. The food stuffs that are bought on daily basis

(5%) are in most cases perishables like meat, vegetables and fruits for students in the secondary

schools. There were no departments which reported buying foodstuffs once or twice a year.

In the Ministry of Health, two departments reported that they regard food stuffs as one of their

essential products. These were the department of HIV Prevention and Care and Public Health.

One of the departments indicated that it buys food stuffs on a monthly basis while the other

department buys food stuffs on a weekly basis. These departments feed the patients on a daily

basis and hence one would expect them to be buying certain perishables on a daily or weekly

basis.

Ten departments in the Ministry of Agriculture reported food stuffs as one of their essential

products. Fifty percent (50%) of these departments buy food stuffs on a monthly basis and

(20%) of the departments in this Ministry buy food stuffs bi-monthly. The table also shows that

(10%) of the departments indicated that they buy food stuffs on a quarterly basis.

Three departments in the Ministry of Works and Transport reported foodstuffs as one of their

essential products and (67%) of the departments buy food stuffs on a quarterly basis whilst

(33%) on a monthly basis.

4.8.1. Source of Food Stuffs Table 1.17 below shows that most of the government departments (97%) indicated that they buy

their foodstuffs from the local businesses. Some departments stated that they either buy

simultaneously from local and foreign businesses and or local businesses and the Department of

Supply with both categories at (1.3%) each respectively. It is worth noting that none of the

government departments in all the selected Ministries buy their food stuffs solely from the

Department of Supply.

4.8.1.1. Source of Food Stuffs by the Ministry

Table 4.9 below indicates that nearly all of the Ministry of Education departments (96%), bought

foodstuffs from the local businesses. These include food stuffs such as beans, meat, fruits and

vegetables, cooking oil, bread, mealie-meal, sorghum and samp. Only (4%) of the respondents in

10/07/2009

this Ministry buy their food stuffs from the local businesses, foreign businesses and the

Department of Supply.

In the Ministries of Health and Works and Transport all (100%) the departments interviewed

bought their food stuffs from the local businesses.

Table 4.9 below shows that most of the departments in the Ministry of Agriculture (90%),

bought their food stuffs from the local SMEs while the remaining (10%) of the departments

bought foodstuffs from foreign businesses. None of the departments indicated buying food

stuffs from the Department of Supply.

Table 4.9: Source of Food Stuffs by departments

Ministry


Local

Government

Works and

Transport Total

% % % % % %Foodstuffs Local

Business 107 96% 2 100% 9 90% 24 100% 3 100% 145 97%

Local

Business

and Foreign

2 2% 0 0% 0 0% 0 0% 0 0% 2 1.3%

Local

Business

and

Department

of Supply

2 2% 0 0% 0 0% 0 0% 0 0% 2 1.3%

Foreign

Business 0 0% 0 0% 1 10% 0 0% 0 0% 1 .7%

Total 111 100% 2 100% 10 100% 24 100% 3 100% 150 100%

4.8.2. Quality of foodstuffs from local SMEs

Most of the government departments, (61%), rated the quality of foodstuffs from local SMEs as

good while (22%) departments rated the quality of foodstuffs as of average quality and (13%) of

the respondents said the food stuffs from the local SMEs are of excellent quality. Only (3%) of

the respondents said that they are of poor quality. Overall, most of the respondents are happy

10/07/2009

with the quality of the food stuffs supplied by the local SMEs showing that the SMEs do adhere

to the set standards of provision of food stuffs.

The table 4.10 below shows that most of the departments, (62%), in the Ministry of Education

rated the quality of SMEs products as good, while (21%) rated the quality of foodstuffs as of

average quality. The table also shows that (14%) of the departments rated the quality of the

foodstuffs as excellent while (4%) of the departments rated it as poor. There were no

departments which rated the foodstuffs as very poor.

All the respondents in the Ministry of Health rated the quality of foodstuffs as good.

The table 4.10 below shows that most of the departments in the Ministry of Agriculture (40%),

rated the quality of foodstuffs as good whilst (40%) of the departments rated it as average. The

table also shows that (20%) of the departments rated the quality of food stuffs as very poor.

None of the departments rated the quality of food stuffs as poor.

Table 4.10 below shows that (67%) of the departments in the Ministry of Works and Transport

rated the quality of food stuffs as good while (33%) of the departments rated the quality of food

stuffs as of average quality.

Table 4.10: Perceptions about the quality of foodstuffs by Ministry

Ministry


Local

Government

Works and

Transport Total

% % % % % %

Foodstuffs

Very

poor

0% 0 0% 0 20% 2 0% 0 0% 0 1% 2

Poor 4% 4 0% 0 0% 0 0% 0 0% 0 3% 4

Average 21% 23 0% 0 40% 4 21% 5 33% 1 22% 32

Good 62% 69 100% 2 40% 4 58% 14 67% 2 61% 91

Excellent 14% 15 0% 0 0% 0 21% 5 0% 0 13% 20

Total 100% 111 100% 2 100% 10 100% 24 100% 3 100% 150

10/07/2009

4.8.3. Pricing of Food stuffs

Most of the Government Departments, (60%) rated the pricing of foodstuffs as expensive while

(36%) of the departments indicated that the price was fair. Table 4.11 shows that (4%) of the

Government ministries rated the pricing of foodstuffs as cheap.

Most of the respondents in the Ministry of Education are of the view that the food stuffs prices

are expensive (66%) while (32%) said they are fairly priced. It is only (3%) who believe that they

are cheap.

In the Ministry of Health, (50%) of the respondents said the food stuff prices are expensive and

(50%) said they are fairly priced. None of the departments in this ministry thought foodstuffs

were cheap.

Table 1.19 below also shows that (40%) of the participants in the Ministry of Agriculture rated

the price of foodstuffs as expensive. The results also show that another (40%) of the

respondents rated the price of foodstuffs as fair while (20%) are of the view that the foodstuffs

were cheap.

A total of (67%) of the departments interviewed in the Ministry of Works and Transport rated

the pricing of foodstuffs as fair, while (33%) of the departments rated foodstuffs as expensive.

None of the departments in this Ministry thought that foodstuffs were cheap.

Table 4.11: Perceptions about the Pricing of Food stuffs by Ministries

Ministry


Local

Government

Works and

Transport Total

%

Dep

t %

Dep

t %

Dep

t %

Dep

t %

Dep

t %

Dep

t

Foodstuff

s

Cheap 3% 3 0% 0 20% 2 8% 2 0% 0 4% 6

Fair 32% 35 50% 1 40% 4 46% 11 67% 2 36% 53

Expensiv

e 66% 73 50% 1 40% 4 46% 11 33% 1 60% 90

Total 100

% 111

100

% 2

100

% 10 100% 24

100

% 3

100

% 150

10/07/2009

4.8.4. Overall Departments’ Observations on the delivery times of foodstuffs

In general, adherence to delivery times of food stuffs received diverse views from the selected

departments. The table 4.12 below shows that most of the government departments (50%) rated

the delivery times of foodstuffs as good, and(13%) said they were excellent in adhering to

delivery times whilst (23%) of them noted that their performance in terms of delivery is average.

Furthermore, (8%) of the departments stated that the local SMEs are poor in service delivery

with an additional (6%) indicating that they are indeed very poor in complying with the delivery

times.

Within the Ministry of Education,(51%) of the respondents rated the delivery times of foodstuffs

as good, and (10%) said that it was excellent whilst (23%) of the departments rated it as average.

In the Ministry of Health, (50%) of the respondents were unhappy with the lack of compliance

to the delivery times of food stuffs and rated it poor while on the other hand (50%) stated it as

satisfactory.

The delivery times of food stuffs received impressive ratings in the Ministry of Works and

Transport with none of the departments were unhappy with the local SMEs service delivery.

(67%) of the respondents in this Ministry said it is good and (33%) noted it as excellent. One of

the things that could be explored further is to find out how these ratings came about and assess

how the delivery times are agreed upon in this Ministry to gain a better understanding of the high

ratings.

The Ministry of Agriculture also seem to be quite content with the delivery of the food stuffs

since none of the respondents in this Ministry rated them poor or very poor. The ratings varied

between average at (33%) ,good at (44% )and excellent at (22%).

10/07/2009

Table 4.12: Perceptions about the delivery times of foodstuffs by departments

Ministry


Local

Government

Works and

Transport Total

% % % % % %

Foodstuffs Very

poor 7% 8 0% 0 0% 0 4% 1 0% 0 6% 9

Poor 9% 10 50% 1 0% 0 4% 1 0% 0 8% 12

Average 23% 26 0% 0 33% 3 21% 5 0% 0 23% 34

Good 51% 56 50% 1 44% 4 46% 11 67% 2 50% 74

Excellent 10% 11 0% 0 22% 2 25% 6 33% 1 13% 20

Total 100% 111 100% 2 100% 9 100% 24 100% 3 100% 149

4.9. Office Furniture One of the essential products which the government departments purchase most is office

furniture. A4.8 in the appendix shows that in general most of the departments, (59%) buy office

furniture at least twice a year, followed by those that buy furniture whenever the need arises at

(21%). This is expected since office furniture is expected to be durable and thus a long-lasting

product. The same trend is observed in all the four Ministries where they buy furniture at least

twice in a year.

4.9.1. Source of Office Furniture The results show that the main source of office furniture is bought mostly from the Department

of Supply at (53%) with (36%) of the departments buying from the local businesses. None of the

departments buy furniture from the foreign businesses. A4.9 is appended for more details.

4.9.2. Quality of Office Furniture from local SMEs Overall, the respondents view the quality of office furniture procured from local SMEs as of

good quality (59%) and (15%) rated them as of excellent quality. As shown on table 4.13 below

there are however, those departments that said that the quality of the furniture is poor (8%) and

this was mentioned by the Ministry of Agriculture and Local Government. In the Ministries of

Health, Education and Works and Transport, none of the respondents in these Ministries

mentioned the poor quality of the office furniture.

10/07/2009

Table 4.13: Perceptions about the quality of Office Furniture by departments

Ministry


Local

Government

Works and

Transport Total

% % % % % %

furniture Very

poor 0% 0 0% 0 0% 0 6% 1 0% 0 2% 1

Poor 0% 0 0% 0 50% 2 12% 2 0% 0 8% 4

Average 17% 4 33% 1 0% 0 12% 2 33% 2 17% 9

Good 70% 16 0% 0 50% 2 53% 9 67% 4 59% 31

Excellent 13% 3 67% 2 0% 0 18% 3 0% 0 15% 8

Total 100% 23 100% 3 100% 4 100% 17 100% 6 100% 53

4.9.3. Departments’ perceptions about the pricing of office furniture

At least (53%) of the participants stated that the pricing of office furniture from the local SMEs

is fairly priced. This is followed by those who mentioned that it is expensive (40%) and (8%)

who said that it is cheap. In general it is in order to conclude that the office furniture supplied by

local SMEs is considerably priced. Refer to A4.9 in the appendix.

4.9.4. Departments’ perceptions about the delivery times of office furniture The general perception by the respondents is that the local SMEs do adhere to the delivery times

of office furniture since (40%) of the respondents rated the delivery times as good and (19%)

said they were excellent in meeting the delivery times set. Quite a small percentage of the

respondents rated them as poor in terms of complying to agreed delivery times (8%). Refer to

table 4.14 below.

Within the Ministry of Works and Transport,(50%) of the respondents rated the delivery times

of office furniture as good and this is the highest percentage rated among the Ministries. It

should however be noted that the Ministry of Agriculture is the only Ministry whose

departments rated the delivery of office furniture as very poor (50%). This is quite an interesting

viewpoint which may need further investigation since the other Ministries’ departments rated the

adherence to delivery times of office furniture between average and excellent only.

10/07/2009

Table 4.14: Perceptions about the delivery times of office furniture by departments

Ministry


Local

Government

Works and

Transport Total

% % % % % %

Furniture Very

poor 4% 1 0% 0 50% 2 0% 0 0% 0 6% 3

Poor 4% 1 0% 0 0% 0 0% 0 0% 0 2% 1

Average 39% 9 33% 1 25% 1 29% 5 33% 2 34% 18

Good 39% 9 33% 1 25% 1 41% 7 50% 3 40% 21

Excellent 13% 3 33% 1 0% 0 29% 5 17% 1 19% 10

Total 100% 23 100% 3 100% 4 100% 17 100% 6 100% 53

4.10. Protective Clothing

4.10.1. Frequency of Purchase of Protective Clothing Protective clothing is bought by at least 69 government departments who stated it as one of the

essential products. Most of the respondents (74%) indicated that they buy protective clothing

once in a year, while (12%) of the departments buy it whenever a need arises as shown on table

4.15 below. Other departments indicated that they buy protective clothing twice a year at (6%).

These departments are in the Ministries of Agriculture and Education where they purchase

things like trousers, ties, boots and overalls. Furthermore, some departments in the Ministries of

Works and Transport and Agriculture buy protective clothing on a quarterly basis mentioned by

at least (4%) of the respondents in these Ministries. The protective clothing they buy include

things like boots, gloves and overalls. The Ministry of Local Government in particular the

Gaborone City Council purchases the following protective clothing on a monthly basis; overalls,

dust-coats and shoes. None of the departments enumerated reported ever buying protective

clothing daily, weekly or bi-monthly.

10/07/2009

Table 4.15: Frequency of Purchase of Protective Clothing by Ministries

Frequency Education Health Agriculture

Local

Government

Works

and

Transport Total

more than once a year 0(0) 0(0) 0(0) 0(0) 1(7%) 1(1.4%)

monthly 0(0) 0(0) 0(0) 2(14%) 0(0) 2(3%)

quarterly 0(0) 0(0) 1(8%) 0(0) 2(14%) 3(4%)

twice a year 1(5%) 0(0) 3(25%) 0(0) 0(0) 4(6%)

when needed 4(18%) 3(60%) 0(0) 0(0) 1(7%) 8(12%)

once a year 17(77%) 2(40%) 8(67%) 14(88%) 10(71%) 51(74%)

Total 22 5 12 16 14 69

4.10.2. Source of Protective Clothing

Table 4.16 below shows that most of the government departments, (58%) bought their

protective clothing from the Department of Supply while (33%) bought their protective clothing

from the local businesses. The table also indicates that (9%) of the departments bought their

protective clothing both from the local businesses and the Department of Supply. According to

the results none of the government departments enumerated bought protective clothing from

the foreign businesses.

Table 4.16: Source of Protective Clothing by departments

Ministry


Local

Government

Works and

Transport Total

% % % % % %

protective

clothing

Local

Business 36% 8 60% 3 17% 2 19% 3 50% 7 33% 23

Foreign

Business 0% 0 0% 0 0% 0 0% 0 0% 0 0% 0

Government

Supplies

Department

50% 11 40% 2 83% 10 63% 10 50% 7 58% 40

Local

Business

and Foreign

0% 0 0% 0 0% 0 0% 0 0% 0 0% 0

Local

Business 14% 3 0% 0 0% 0 19% 3 0% 0 9% 6

10/07/2009

and

Department

of Supply

Total 100% 22 100% 5 100% 12 100% 16 100% 14 100% 69

4.10.3. Quality of Protective Clothing from local SMEs

Out of the thirty (30) respondents that gave their perceptions on the quality of protective

clothing, table 4.17 below shows that 15 (50%) of the participants rated it as good, while 8 (27%)

departments rated it as of average quality. The results also indicates that 3 departments rated the

quality of protective clothing as excellent, while the other 3 rated them as of poor quality. The

departments that stated the poor quality of the protective clothing are in the Ministries of

Education and Local Government at (18%) and (14%) respectively. Only one department in the

Ministry of Education rated the quality of protective clothing supplied by the local SMEs as ‘very

poor’. The type of protective clothing supplied to this Ministry include items like overalls for

drivers, shoes and dresses for cleaners.

Table 4.17: Perceptions about the Quality of Protective Clothing by departments

Ministry


Local

Government

Works and

Transport Total

% Dept % Dept % Dept % Dept % Dept % Dept

protectiv

e clothing

Very

poor 9% 1 0% 0 0% 0 0% 0 0% 0 3% 1

Poor 18% 2 0% 0 0% 0 14% 1 0% 0 10% 3

Average 18% 2 25% 1 0% 0 29% 2 43% 3 27% 8

Good 55% 6 75% 3 100% 1 43% 3 29% 2 50% 15

Excellen

t 0% 0 0% 0 0% 0 14% 1 29% 2 10% 3

Total 100

% 11 100% 4 100% 1 100% 7 100% 7 100% 30

10/07/2009

4.10.4. Departments’ perceptions about the pricing of protective clothing

The respondents in all the Ministries enumerated were of the view that the protective clothing

supplied by the local SMEs is fairly priced at (60%) while (20%) said they are cheap as illustrated

in table 4.18 below. Only (20%) said that they are expensive and this was stated by respondents

in the Ministries of Education (36%), Works and Transport (14%) and Local Government

(14%).

In the Ministries of Health and Agriculture, the respondents seemed to be content with the

pricing of protective clothing supplied by local SMEs since all of them (100%) said that it is fairly

priced. Comparatively, in the Ministry of Works and Transport, the viewpoints were varied since

the majority of the respondents in this Ministry said the pricing was fair (57%), cheap (29%) and

(14%) said they are expensive.

Table 4.18: Perceptions about the Pricing of protective clothing by departments

Ministry


Local

Government

Works and

Transport Total

% % % % % %

protective

clothing

Cheap 18% 2 0% 0 0% 0 29% 2 29% 2 20% 6

Fair 46% 5 100% 4 100% 1 57% 4 57% 4 60% 18

Expensive 36% 4 0% 0 0% 0 14% 1 14% 1 20% 6

Total 100% 11 100% 4 100% 1 100% 7 100% 7 100% 30

4.10.5. Departments’ perceptions about the delivery times of protective clothing

Most of the respondents seem to be content with the delivery times of protective clothing

supplied by the local SMEs since (63%) of the respondents ranked them between average and

excellent. Only (37%) said that they are poor in adhering to the set delivery times. Table 4.19

below illustrates that the Ministry of Works and Transport is the only Ministry whose most

respondents indicated that they are dissatisfied with the delivery times of protective clothing.

10/07/2009

Fifty-seven percent (57%) rated them as very poor while (29%) said that they are poor in

adhering to the delivery times. None of the respondents in this Ministry rated them as good or

excellent.

Table 4.19: Perceptions about the delivery times of protective clothing by departments

Ministry


Local

Government

Works and

Transport Total

Protective

clothing

Very

poor 9% 1 0% 0 0% 0 0% 0 57% 4 17% 5

Poor 18% 2 0% 0 100% 1 14% 1 29% 2 20% 6

Average 36% 4 25% 1 0% 0 43% 3 14% 1 30% 9

Good 18% 2 50% 2 0% 0 29% 2 0% 0 20% 6

Excellent 18% 2 25% 1 0% 0 14% 1 0% 0 13% 4

Total 100% 11 100% 4 100% 1 100% 7 100% 7 100% 30

4.10.6. Government Departments Payment Times for Products and Services The majority of the respondents indicated that they pay their suppliers 14 days after delivery with

at least (46%) of them stating so as depicted on figure 4.1 below. Only 1 respondent mentioned

making payment two months after delivery, a situation that may impact negatively on the cash

flow of the SMEs since they have indicated that they have financial constraints. Some of the

respondents mentioned that they make payments on delivery (30%) whilst others said they pay

one month after delivery (10%) and (14%) one week after delivery. Generally, these payment

terms are acceptable taking into account the internal processes that have to be followed in order

to pay.

These results are however, contrary to the allegations made by the local SMEs that government

departments take a long time to pay them resulting in cash flows shortages in the process

denying these SMEs to venture into other projects due to lack of mobilization fees.

However, if it is true that the majority of payments are made within 14 days and yet the SMEs

still say they have to wait for a long time to get paid then there may be other factors that may be

putting the SMEs under financial stress because the 14 days payment period seems reasonable.

10/07/2009

Figure 4.1.: Departments’ payment times

4.11. Procurement Policy Issues In the four ministries the most commonly used procurement policy or procedure is the Supplies

Regulations and Procedures used by at least 216 departments. The PPADB Act is also the

commonly used mentioned by at least 48 departments in the ministries. The Financial regulations

Act and the Finance and Audit Act were mentioned by at least one department each.

Most of the departments indicated that procurement from local SMEs is considered to be a

priority.

From the 130 departments in the Ministry of Education interviewed, 101 stated that it is a

priority to buy from the SMEs. In the Ministry of Agriculture, out of the 58 department

interviewed, 39 of them indicated that it is a priority to buy from local SMEs even though there

were two departments in this ministry that did not know if it was a priority to purchase from the

local SMEs. The same trend is noted in the Ministries of Health and Works and Transport where

the majority of the departments mentioned that they give priority to the local SMEs when

purchasing their goods and services. Refer to table 4.20 below.

Table: 4.20: Procurement preferences to local SMEs by Ministries.

Ministry Give priority to

SMEs

No priority

to SMEsDo not Know

Education 101 27 2 Health 9 1 0 Agriculture 39 17 2 Works and Transport 29 6 2

10/07/2009

4.12. Departments Procurement Reservations for local SMEs

It should however, be noted that the results further show that most of the departments (85%)

interviewed stated that their procurement policies do not provide for reservations for local

SMEs. Even in the absence of a reservation policy there may be a deliberate attempt to give

priority to the SMMEs, as the results of the study indicate. In addition there may be directives to

this effect, which are not normally contained in the procurement policies, but are cross cutting

and overarching. However, it should be stated that the absence of reservation measures in their

policies means they have no obligation to give priority to the SMEs. There should be a legal

obligation to procure from SMEs across all departments to minimize non-conformity. These

should allow for close monitoring by value and quantity.

However, the institution of legal obligations to procure, must not overlook the need for high

quality services on the part of the SMEs. Such the legal obligations to procure must also have

exceptions to discretionary sourcing.

With the introduction of the Local Procurement Programme (April 1997) and the Reservations

Policy, one would expect the utilization of these to have intensified in the Ministries. This is,

however, not the case since the departments have mentioned that the pricing, quality and

delivery times of these local SMEs are generally satisfactory.

Only (15%) of the departments stated that their procurement policies have an allowance to

purchase from local SMEs. They mentioned that in most cases they give priority to local

companies at tendering stage and also reserve services and products for them. Others said they

reserve 25% of their procurement requirements for local businesses.

In order to identify opportunities for local SMEs, departments were asked to state the products

and services they would prefer to buy from local SMEs in the future. A total of (32%) of the

departments indicated that there were some essential products and services which were not

available from the local SMEs. Such products were IT equipments, agriculture machinery and

equipment, medical equipment, and aircraft servicing/maintenance.

Some of these products and services are however the least preferred (indicated by at least one

department) to be bought from local SMEs. These are machinery repairs and services,

agricultural products and equipment, building materials, and electrical materials as listed on

A4.11 in the appendix. Since some of these products and services are of a special nature, the

departments may believe they could only be obtained externally where they may be of better

quality and cheaper than locally.

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4.13. Challenges faced by Departments when dealing with local SMEs A4.12 in the appendix illustrates a variety of challenges faced by government departments when

dealing with local SMEs. The most common challenge is late delivery of goods and services

making up (23%) of the responses across all the four ministries. This is congruent with the

concerns raised by the SMEs that at times they deliver their products and services late or even

fail to deliver at all because of the late delivery of goods by their suppliers. Another setback is the

non adherence to contracts by SMEs (4%) which may be attributed by the factors highlighted

above.

Other challenges mentioned are local SMEs having insufficient stock (12%); inconsistent pricing

(12%); and poor quality products at (11%). It is worth noting that the SMEs also mentioned that

the fluctuating fuel prices worldwide, has resulted in a corresponding increase in transport costs

and hence inconsistency in pricing their products and services.

Poor customer service and relations (7%) was also mentioned as one of the challenges they face

when dealing with SMEs. In a way some SMEs acknowledged this in indicating that some of the

skills required to be competitive is good customer service.

Other challenges, although insignificant when compared to others includes SMEs demanding

payment upon delivery (2%) and demanding advance payments (0.2%) due to lack of

mobilization money to kick start supply once they win contracts. This is accentuated by the fact

that government take too long to pay them once delivery is done. The non-acceptance of

government purchase orders by local SMEs (2%) is an indication that they indeed need cash

immediately and cannot afford to wait for unpredictable periods of time.

Ministerial departments approach the above-mentioned challenges in a variety of ways. In most

case they provide counselling services (34%) to these SMEs on issues of pricing, proper service

delivery and the importance of having offices where they could be contacted (table 1.34 below).

Other departments (10%) do however take severe steps like cancelling the contracts when the

SMEs fail to deliver. The departments also indicated that they educate the SMEs on government

procurement procedures (9%) to ensure that they meet the contract obligations and know when

to expect payments once the delivery has been done. They also mentioned that they encourage

the SMEs to keep proper books of accounts (0.7%) and even encourage them to partner with

more established companies (0.3%) so they could learn how to manage businesses efficiently.

Although extension of delivery times (5%) does not necessarily empower the SMEs, some

departments mentioned that they do provide extensions to SMEs at times. Other departments

indicated that failure to supply results in exclusion from future contract awards to such SMEs

(7%). Those SMEs that do not accept government purchase orders are said to be excluded from

10/07/2009

benefiting from the government procurement contracts (0.7%). Although this may be

convenient for the departments it is an unfair decision because it discriminates against the very

local SMEs the departments are supposed to empower and promote. Government departments

should appreciate the fact that SMEs need working capital to move from one job to another

hence the need for them to make provisions for such.

Table 4.21: Ways of addressing the challenges

Ways of addressing the challenges Ed

uca

tion

Hea

lth

Agr

icu

ltu

re

Wor

ks a

nd

Tra

nsp

ort

Tot

al

Per

cen

t

Advising on proper business operations 63 6 26 7 102 34 Cancel contracts 10 0 7 12 29 10 Not addressing the challenges 13 0 8 8 29 10 Informing SMEs on government procurement procedures 16 1 6 3 26 9 Failure to supply results in exclusion 12 0 5 4 21 7 Use own transport to collect goods 7 2 5 5 19 6 Delivery time extensions 9 1 5 1 16 5 Poor quality products are rejected 10 0 1 3 14 5 Rotation of suppliers 4 1 2 0 7 2 Businesses are encouraged to register 4 1 2 0 7 2 Opt for cheapest Suppliers 5 0 4 1 10 2 Procurement temporary waivers from District Council office 3 0 0 0 3 1 Advice on provision of quality products 4 0 0 0 4 1 SMEs are encouraged to have sufficient stock 0 0 2 2 4 1 Encouraged to have business/company accounts 2 0 0 0 2 0.7 Purchasing from outside immediate Localities 1 0 1 0 2 0.7 Borrowing goods/services from other Government departments 2 0 0 0 2 0.7 Those who do not accept Government Purchase Orders are excluded 2 0 0 0 2 0.7 Mobilization fees given 0 0 1 0 1 0.3 Partnering with Established companies 0 0 1 0 1 0.3 Total 301

4.14. Possible Improvements in the Tendering processes of Local SMEs In an attempt to assess how the tendering processes of local SMEs could be enhanced, the

government departments were requested to provide the possible improvements to these

10/07/2009

processes. As shown on A4.13 appended, most of the departments (30%) did not see the need to

make any improvements. Some of the respondents however, felt that the SMEs could be

educated on procurement procedures (14%) whilst others suggested that procurement should be

made from businesses of the same standing (8%) i.e. when a tender is released, it should be

limited to SMEs only and not be open to even large companies that have economies of scale

when it comes to production and purchasing. Other suggestions are that SMEs should be trained

on business management skills (7%) to enhance their potential to adhere to contracts awarded.

Departments are of the view that if the contracts are long-term, companies become negligent

and fail to meet contractual obligations over time. They thus believe that reducing contracts to

one year (2%) would reduce this negligence. Price should not be the only determining factor

when awarding contracts (2%), other things like capability to deliver quality products and

services and track record in meeting contractual obligations should be considered.

There are other suggestions that do not really require much effort from the SMEs but could

bring more business to them. These include SMEs advertising their services (3%); SMEs should

focus on supplying certain products and services (3%) rather than to be cross-cutting in their

supplies which tends to overstretch their competence and inability to supply certain products and

services.

4.15. Advantages of doing business with local SMEs In order to have targeted interventions, the respondents were requested to highlight the

advantages of doing business with the local SMEs. The main advantages as stipulated by the

government departments are presented in A4.14 in the appendix. The majority of the

respondents are of the view that doing business with the local SMEs is beneficial to them since

the SMEs are easily accessible (41%) and hence transport costs (17%) and delivery times (28%)

tend to be reduced. The other most common advantage is that communication becomes easy

between the parties (13%) since the suppliers would be local. Dealing with local SMEs also

allows the departments to assess the samples (6%) easily because the suppliers are in the country

and this tends to save a lot of time. Other benefits mentioned are that wrongly supplied products

could be easily returned (7%) and replacements made immediately where possible. The pricing is

also said to be cheaper (14%) as there won’t be any customs and exchange rate issues (3%) when

products and services are accessed locally.

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4.16. Terms and Conditions imposed on other Suppliers In order to find ways of improving the performance of the SMEs in supplying the government

departments with goods and services, the study questioned the respondents on the terms and

conditions they impose on other suppliers especially larger businesses so that such could be

applied to the local SMEs. Although the majority of the respondents said they don’t impose any

special terms and conditions (78%) some of the participants indicated they specify delivery times

(5%) and at times advance mobilization fees to suppliers (1%) in order to assist them to procure

whatever they need to supply. They also encourage large companies to sub-contract (1%) once

they win a contract so that the job awarded becomes manageable and require evidence of past

experience (1%) to assist them in the assessment. Refer to A4.15 appended for more details.

10/07/2009

4.18. Summary Findings- Government Departments

1. The most frequently purchased products and services by the departments enumerated are

stationery (89%), cleaning materials (72%), food stuffs (52%), office furniture (38%) and

protective clothing mentioned by at least (24%) of the respondents. The results show

that most of the departments buy these essential products and services from the local

businesses (94%) and only (45%) of the respondents buy them from the Department of

Supply. Only (2%) of the participants indicated that they buy from foreign businesses.

2. The quality of stationery from the local SMEs is rated by the majority of the respondents

as of good quality (62%). Only a very insignificant percentage of these departments rated

it as of poor quality (1%). In terms of the pricing of stationery, the participants were of

different opinions. The majority of them said that stationery supplied by the local SMEs

is fairly priced (52%) while (41%) stated that it was expensive and only (7%) said it is

cheap. Also the delivery times of stationery as viewed by the respondents received

diverse responses. Most of them (58%) rated it between good and excellent while (13%)

mentioned that they don’t adhere to agreed delivery times hence they rated them

between poor and very poor.

3. The participants further showed that they buy their cleaning materials mostly from local

businesses (53%) and the other (27%) purchase from both the local businesses and the

Department of Supply. Only less than (1%) mentioned buying from foreign businesses.

At least (54%) of the respondents seem to be content with the quality of the cleaning

materials supplied by the local SMEs. Furthermore, (11%) rated the cleaning materials as

of excellent quality. There are however, those departments that are of the view that the

cleaning materials are of poor to even very poor quality, this was mentioned by (9%) of

the departments. Overall, (50%) of the participants said that the cleaning materials are

fairly priced and (6%) even said that they are cheap. However, (44%) of them said that

the cleaning materials supplied by the local SMEs are quite expensive. The majority of

the departments (47%) that participated in this study were satisfied with the delivery

times of cleaning materials by the local SMEs. Only (11%) rated them very poor in terms

of adhering to delivery times.

4. Food stuffs were mentioned as one of the essential products by the Ministries’

departments. Food stuffs vary per departments depending on the nature of their

business. For instance, the Ministry of Education departments buy food for the learners

whereas Ministry of Local Government buys food for the destitute and orphans. As a

10/07/2009

result, most of these departments buy food stuffs on a monthly basis (53%) whereas

others buy them on a quarterly basis (19%). The respondents highlighted that they buy

food stuffs from the local businesses (97%) which is quite a significant support for

citizen empowerment. A very small percentage of the departments said that they at times

buy from both local and foreign businesses (1.3%). Most of the departments stated that

they are satisfied with the quality of the food stuffs (61%) some even said that the quality

is of excellent standards (13%). Only (3%) of them said that they are of poor quality

which is a number that could be easily targeted for improvement.

5. In general, the government departments interviewed said that the food stuffs were

expensive (60%) and (36%) said they were fairly priced. Just (4%) mentioned them as

affordable. The high food stuffs prices could have been attributed to the inflation and

the fluctuating exchange rates. At least (63%) of the participants rated the delivery times

of food stuffs by local SMEs between good and excellent. Only (14%) said that they

don’t adhere to the delivery times hence rating them between poor and very poor.

6. Office furniture was mentioned as one of the essential products by the Ministries’

departments. The majority of them (59%) said that they buy it at least twice a year and

others stated that they buy it whenever the need arises (21%). The office furniture is

supplied mainly by the Department of Government Supply (53%). However, there are

those departments that buy it from the local businesses (36%). None of the departments

buy it from the foreign businesses.

7. The quality of the office furniture is said to be good by most of the participants (59%),

some even rated it as excellent (15%). Only (8%) indicated that it is of poor quality and

this was highlighted by the Ministry of Agriculture and Local Government respondents.

8. More than half (53%) of the respondents stated that the office furniture supplied by the

local SMEs is fairly priced and (8%) said that it is cheap. Nevertheless, (40%) are of the

view that it is expensive. The general perceptions about the delivery times of office

furniture by local SMEs is that they do adhere to it (40%) (i.e. it is good) and even (19%)

of the respondents said it is excellent.

9. Protective clothing is bought mostly once a year by most of the respondents (74%) and

(12%) buy protective clothing whenever the need arises. Other departments either buy it

quarterly (4%) or twice a year (6%). The main supplier of protective clothing to

government departments is the Department of Supply (58%) and (33%) indicated buying

them from the local businesses.

10/07/2009

10. The quality of protective clothing is rated between average and excellent by (87%) of the

respondents. Only (13%) said that it is of poor quality. These are the respondents in the

Ministries of Education and Local Government. The majority of the respondents are of

the view that the protective clothing supplied by the local SMEs is fairly priced at (60%)

of the respondents with (20%) stating that it is affordable. Only (20%) of the

respondents who are in the Ministries of Education, Works and Transport and Local

Government stated that it is expensive.

11. Most of the respondents (63%) are satisfied with the delivery times of protective clothing

ranking it between average and excellent. Those that said the SMEs don’t adhere to the

set delivery times accounted for only (37%). The most commonly used procurement

policy or procedure is the Supplies Regulations and Procedures used by at least 216

departments out of 289 interviewed. The PPADB Act is the second most commonly

used by at least 48 departments.

12. At least 101 government departments said that procuring from local SMEs is a priority.

There are however, certain Ministries’ departments (57) that indicated that they did not

know it was a priority for them to purchase from the local SMEs.

13. Despite stating that they give priority to local SMEs when purchasing, (85%) of the

respondents indicated that their procurement policies do not provide reservations for

local SMEs hence this is contrary to their assertions since there would be no guiding

principles to purchase from local SMEs and even monitor the buying. Only (15%) of the

respondents stated that their procurement policies have an allowance to buy from the

local SMEs. They indicated that in most cases they give priority to the local companies at

the tendering stage and also reserve certain services and products for them.

14. The most common challenge faced by the respondents when dealing with the local SMEs

is the late delivery of goods and services mentioned by at least (23%) of the respondents.

This fits the concerns raised by the SMEs that they at times fail to deliver the goods and

services on time due to the late delivery of these by the suppliers. Other challenges

mentioned are that local SMEs have a problem of insufficient stock (12%), inconsistent

pricing (12%) and poor quality products (11%).

15. Poor customer relations at (7%) is also highlighted as a problem and the SMEs also

acknowledged this because they stated that they require customer service skills to help

their customers.

16. In an effort to overcome some of these challenges, the departments said that they

provide counselling services (34%) to these SMEs on issues of pricing, good service

10/07/2009

delivery and even the importance of having offices where they could be contacted is

emphasized. Other departments however, mentioned that they cancel contracts if the

SMEs fail to deliver. Some departments indicated that they emphasize on educating the

SMEs on procurement procedures (14%) to empower the SMEs.

10/07/2009

17.

4.19. Conclusions

The study results have shown that local SMEs have quite satisfactory support from across the

government ministries and their departments. The figures reveal that all the five (5) government

ministries namely, the Ministry of Education, Health, Local Government, Agriculture and Works

and Transport are supportive of SMEs as they purchase most products and services from the

local SMEs. The products that are regarded as essential in these departments and hence bought

frequently are stationery, protective clothing, food stuffs, cleaning materials, and office furniture.

Overall, the government departments are content with the quality, pricing and adherence to

delivery times of all these essential products as supplied by the local SMEs. Most of the

government departments reported that they give preference to local SMEs when they buy their

products and services. There are, however, those who don’t give priority to SMEs or are not

aware of any efforts made to give preference to SMEs. This implies that the Local Procurement

Programme and the Reservations Policy are not being fully being adhered to by all some

government departments.

The study has further revealed that there are quite a number of challenges facing local SMEs due

to lack of business operations expertise. The most popular challenge the local SMEs seem to be

facing is the delivery time which most of the government departments also reported as a

problem. Insufficient stock/supply and inconsistent /unrealistic pricing by the SMEs is also

amongst the challenges highlighted. This shows that the SMEs may be unaware of the correct

pricing mechanisms, factors to consider when measuring their products or services worthiness

and the expectations of the buyers.

To improve the performance of the local SMEs some of the departments are providing coaching

services to these SMEs on issues of pricing, the importance of providing quality products and

services and adherence to specified delivery times. Others are educating them on the government

procurement procedures to enable them to compete for future tenders more informed basis.

Over time, the efforts made by these departments should bear fruits and enable the local SMEs

to compete for larger contracts in the government departments. The interventions of

organizations such as LEA to beef up such efforts by government should positively impact on

the SMEs long term survival and participation in government procurement.

10/07/2009

5.0 Ministry of Local Government Results and Findings

5.1. Ministry Overview

Ministry of local government is responsible for the formulation of local government policies, as

well as co-ordinating and providing policy guidelines to local authorities (councils) on the

implementation of central government policies such as; primary education, primary roads,

primary water services and primary health policies. The Ministry’s role is therefore to create an

enabling environment for the local authorities to provide social services at grassroots level.

The ministry comprises of eight (8) different departments, which include local government

service management, vis a vis; district and sub district councils, town and city councils; Tribal

administration; Social services; Finance and procurement; Technical department; Development

planning; Primary health care; and ministry management respondents. All these reside in the

ministry head office. There are divisions in these departments which are outstation offices found

in various areas around the country.

The overall budgets for the 2005/06 and 2006/07 financial years stood at P2.4billion and P2.42

billion respectively. Data collected during the study, which covered only 54 respondents, shows

that about P843 million in 2005/06 and about P1.5 billion in 2006/07 was expended by the

ministry.

5.2. Number of enumerated respondents per Location A total of 8 departments and 110 divisions were targeted in this study. All the ministry’s 8

departments were interviewed, and only 46 divisions (42% of the target) were enumerated.

Responses from the divisions are independent of those from the departments.

Most of the interviewed divisions are in Gaborone (15%), followed by Bobonong, Gumare,

Mahalapye, Maun, Molepolole, Palapye, Sebina, and Serowe at (6%) each. Other areas include

Francistown, Gantsi, Jwaneng, Kasane, Letlhakeng, Lobatse, Ramotswa and Tlokweng with (4%)

each as well as Hukuntsi, Kanye, Masunga, Radisele, Tsabong and Tutume with (2%) each.

The majority of the interviewed divisions were the district commissioner’s offices (41%),

followed by tribal administration offices (31%), and local authorities (24%).

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5.3. Frequently bought products and services by respondents For the purpose of this study, essential products and services are described as the most utilised

items in the daily operations of any entity, be it profit or non-profit organisation. These could be

inputs in to the business process or in administrative activities of an organisation. Table 5.1

details essential products as identified by the respondents. As illustrated in the table, the majority

of the respondents identified stationery and printing services (91%), cleaning services,

equipment, and toiletry (81%), furniture, office equipment, and repairs (65%), catering services

and foodstuffs (54%) as essential products and services in their operations. Staff uniform and

protective clothing, at (37%), is also crucial to a considerable number of respondents.

The rest of other products and services, though they appear least popular, remain essential to

some respondents. These products and services include building materials and construction

works, vehicle purchases and spares, IT equipment, machinery repairs and spares, destitute

rations, conference facilities, accommodation, and camping equipment; consultancy and

educational services; security services and equipment; and agricultural equipment. Transport

services, electrical materials, waste management and decorations were identified by a very small

proportion of respondents as essential (i.e. 4% each).

Table 5.1: Essential Products identified by respondents

Products Number of respondents

Percentages

Catering services and food stuffs 29 54Stationery and printing services 49 91Cleaning services, equipments, and toiletry 44

81

Furniture, Office equipment and repairs 35 65Vehicle purchases and spares 9 17Building materials and construction works 9

17

Staff uniform and protective clothing 20 37Conference facilities, accommodation and camping equipment 3 6Security services and equipment 2 4Agricultural equipment 2 4Transport services 1 2Fuels and lubricants 4 7Electrical materials 1 2IT equipments, Machinery repairs and spares 6

11

Destitute rations 4 7Waste Management 1 2Decorations 1 2Consultancy and educational services/training 3

6

10/07/2009

5.3.1. Frequency of the Purchase of Essential Products Frequency of purchase for various products and/or services by the respondents varies from daily

to annually depending on how durable the products are and how often they are used.

The most frequent purchasing periods are monthly and the products and services under this

frequency are vehicle spares, stationery, foodstuffs and cleaning materials respectively. As for bi

annual procurement, foodstuffs and stationery were the most procured products and services.

Annual procurements were for products such as furniture, protective clothing and staff uniform,

stationery, office equipment and repairs. The rest of the essential products and services are

seldom purchased due to their durability (See A5.1). From these results it is evident that there are

some products and services that are procured across all the different frequency of purchases.

Such products and services would include stationery and foodstuffs amongst others.

5.3.2. Sources of Essential Products and Services The essential products and services for the respondents are sourced from local businesses,

foreign businesses, joint local and foreign, and the department of Supplies. In figure 5.1 below,

most of the respondents (55%) source their essential products and services from local

businesses. Twenty eight percent (28%) are supplied by the department of Supplies, while 15%

buy their essentials from both local businesses and the department of Supplies. Only a few

products are sourced from both the local and foreign businesses at 2%. No products are bought

from foreign based businesses.

Figure 5.1: Sources of Purchased Products & Services

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In A5.2, essential products mostly sourced from local suppliers include stationery, food stuffs,

cleaning materials, furniture, vehicle spares, building materials, catering services, as well as

protective clothing in this respective order. No products are sourced from foreign companies.

Furniture, cleaning materials, protective clothing, stationery, staff uniform, and office repairs are

products purchased mostly from the department of suppliesi. Products sourced mostly from

both local business and the department of supplies are stationery, cleaning materials, furniture,

and protective clothing.

5.4. Respondents’ Procurement Records for 2005/6 and 2006/7 Years Procurement records for the various respondents can provide a useful insight into the allocated

budgets, extent of expenditure, as well as information on amounts of purchases from the SMEs

and large enterprises. The expenditure figures discussed in this report were collected from the

various respondents’ records and may not reflect the exact expenditures for the two financial

years due to the fact that there was no adequate filing of records. The ministry expended the

budgets on various projects from various suppliers as detailed in table 5.2 below.

The ministry spent P287,784,130.91 (34% of its total expenditure) in 2005/06 and P561,

919.793.54 (i.e. 37% of expenditure) in 2006/07 on products and services purchased from

SMEs, P544,239,515.72 (65%) in 2005/06 and P945,811,877.30 (62%) in 2006/07 from large

enterprises, and P8,443,941.62 (1%) in 2005/06 and P9,568,550.38 (0.6%) in 2006/07 from

Government. The rest of the expenditure went to parastatals and NGOs.

Table 5.2.: Expenditure Summary for 2005/6 & 2006/7

*NOTES

• Data derived from ministry respondents procurement records for 2005/6 and 2006/7 financial years

Size of Enterprise

2005/06

Expenditure (in

Pula) Percent

2006/7

Expenditure (in

Pula) Percent

SMEs 287,7841,30.91 34 561,919,793.54 37

Large Enterprises 544,239,515.72 65 945,811,877.30 62

Government 8,443,941.62 1 9,568,550.38 0.6

Parastatal 2,245,880.33 0.2 1,404,108.56 0.09

NGO 46,008.95 0.005 10,696.70 0.0007

Total 842,759,477.53

100 1,518,715,026.48 100

10/07/2009

• Classification of companies was done internally by LEA

5.5. Rating of Local SMEs product quality, pricing, and service delivery.

5.5.1. Quality of Products & Services

In order for SMEs to receive substantial support on procurement opportunities, it is essential

for them to ensure acceptable quality of their products. Quality, in this context, can simply be

defined as the ability of a product or service to meet customer expectations, as well as its

conformance to the customer’s requirements. It is one of the crucial prerequisites from any

customers, including the government respondents. Generally, respondents said that majority of

the essential products provided by the SMEs are of acceptable quality. Very few respondents said

the products are of unacceptable quality. This is illustrated in A5.3.

An average of 44% rated food stuffs as of acceptable quality. The quality of stationery was rated

as acceptable by 67% of the respondents. Cleaning materials (48%), furniture (30%), protective

clothing (11%), vehicle spares (15%), building materials (9%), protective clothing (11%), and

catering services (9%) are services generally rated as of acceptable quality. The remaining

products which attracted lower responses are mainly rated as being of acceptable quality.

5.5.2: SMEs Pricing of Products & Services

Overall the pricing of the essential products and services received a positive rating from the

respondents, with 54% reporting it to be fair and 5.5% said it was cheap. As for the specific

products and services, all the respondents who rated staff uniform reported it as cheap, eight (8)

products and services were said to be fair by all the respondents who rated them. These products

and services include amongst others conference facilities, printing services, construction and

related materials and transport. The corresponding figure for products and services reported as

expensive is 7 products and services. These include products such as cleaning equipment, fuels,

IT equipments, vehicle purchases, machinery spares and waste management services. (See A5.4)

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5.5.3. Adherence to Delivery Times by Local SMEs

Adherence to delivery times is viewed as one of the important yardsticks of performance in

business agreements and should always be ensured by suppliers, including SMEs, if business

contracts are to succeed. Different customers have varied requirements in as far as times for

expected deliveries of products are concerned. These usually range from one day to three

months depending on the nature of the order or product. Failure to deliver on agreed times may

lead to dissatisfaction of the customer, especially from the SMEs point of view considering their

dire needs for business continuity and healthy growth based on these kinds of relationships. A5.5

details the respondents’ ratings on delivery times of the SMEs. The trend shows that the ministry

of local government respondents are generally satisfied with the delivery service from the SMEs.

SMEs’ delivery times to the respondents were generally rated as satisfactory. Most of the

respondents provided ratings for few products, namely; foodstuffs, stationery, cleaning materials,

furniture, vehicle spares, building materials, catering services and protective clothing, and

generally rated them as satisfactory (i.e. average to excellent) as follows; foodstuffs at 41%,

delivery of stationery at 35%, 44% of the respondents for delivery of cleaning of materials,

delivery of furniture at 31%, SMEs’ delivery of protective clothing by 11% of the respondents,

building materials and vehicle spares at 13%, while 9% of them rated catering services delivery as

satisfactory. Other products were only rated by very few respondents as generally satisfactory.

5.6. Turnaround time for payments Timely payment for products and services is very important for business survival, especially for

SMEs, who rely much on operating cash for their business growth. However, business

enterprises, including the SMEs, sometimes have latitude of allowing their customers to make

payments at varying timelines in an attempt to accommodate for the customers inability to make

instant payments or to accommodate the payment system of the customers. This is common for

government and large business customers. Payment times may vary from a week to three months

after the delivery of the products, and depends on the agreement between the supplier and the

buyer. Table 5.3 refers.

Majority of the respondents (56%) pay their suppliers two weeks after delivery. Twenty four

percent (24%) of the respondents make payments one week after the delivery, while (13%) pay

one week after the delivery of the products. Only 7% of the respondents deliver their payments

much later, thus one month after delivery. The fact that most respondents report to make

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payments within two weeks of receiving goods or services means that suppliers’ cash flows

should not be affected by payment procedures in general. SMEs should seek out more

government contracts as the assured cash-flow from government would promote healthy

business operations.

Table 5.3: Payment Times per number of respondents

Payment times Number of respondents Percent (%)

On delivery 7 13 One week after delivery 13 24Two weeks after delivery 30

56

One month after delivery 4

7

5.7. Procurement Policies Employed

Procurement policies regulate and detail the buying process for various organisations. Conditions

of procuring products and services, as detailed in the procurement policy, may have some impact

on the business of the SMEs. These conditions may differ between SMEs and large corporations

depending on the product or service to be procured. For instance some policies may have

deliberate preferential processes specifically to benefit SMEs. It is therefore very crucial to

scrutinise the policy documents in an effort to identify bottlenecks, opportunities and advocacy

areas for the LEA clients, i.e. SMEs.

In the Ministry of Local Government the majority of the respondents, (79%), use the Supplies

Regulations and Procedures policy. About (10%) of them use the PPADB Act, while others use

Tendering and Procurement policy. Some respondents, (8%), did not know the procurement

policy they employ in their procurement processes and this is a cause for concern because it

shows that they don’t follow any guidelines.

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Sixty nine percent (69%) of the respondents which have procurement policies have deliberate

priorities for procuring from SMEs. If they adhere to the same central policy let us not refer to

them as if they are unique policies. Twenty eight percent (28%) of them do not give priority to

procure from SMEs, while the rest do not know if they have to give any priorities.

Conversely, (76%) of the respondents do not have reservations for procurement from SMEs in

their procurement policies. Seventeen percent (17%) have reservations to buy from SMEs, while

the rest do not know (7%).

Types of procurement reservations for SMEs include reserving supply opportunities for small

companies such as deliberately reserving 25% of business/supply opportunities as well as

tendering priorities for SMEs.

5.8. Potential Business Opportunities for local SMEs There are several potential supply opportunities for SMEs identified within the ministry. This

emanated from questions on products/services the ministry respondents prefer to source from

local SMEs, products/services that could not be sourced locally, as well as advantages of doing

business with local SMEs. These could assist the LEA and its clientele to strive for capacity

development and improvement to enable them to take advantage of these opportunities.

Cleaning equipments/services and toiletry were identified by (48%) of the respondents as one of

the essential products they prefer to source from local SMEs. Stationery and printing services,

and catering services and foodstuffs are also preferred from local SMEs by (31%) and (20%) of

the respondents respectively. Furniture, office equipment/repairs, staff uniform and protective

clothing are also preferred to be bought from local SMEs by (19%) of the respondents each.

Nine percent (9%) of the respondents would like to purchase destitute rations from local SMEs.

Products and services that could not be sourced locally include some food stuffs, stationery,

cleaning materials, building materials, protective clothing, IT equipments, machinery spares,

consultancy services, and mechanical tools. This could be due to the fact that local production

capacity on these products is still at developmental stage.

Several advantages of doing business with local SMEs, as identified by the respondents, were

inter alia; they are easily accessible, reduction in transportation costs, delivery times and related

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costs, affordable pricing, as well as the fact that economic growth through support initiatives

such as procurement beneficiation of SMEs businesses is greatly fostered.

On the other hand, there are identified challenges, ways of addressing the challenges, as well as

ideas on improving tendering processes which may help local SMEs to improve their business

processes.

Challenges in doing business with local SMEs, which stems as areas of improvement include,

among others; poor product/service quality, late deliveries, insufficient stocks, no fixed areas of

operation and lack of capacity. These challenges are mainly addressed through counselling the

local SMEs on service delivery improvements. Other ways of addressing the challenges entails

excluding those who fail to supply, cancelling orders, and giving them delivery time extensions.

The respondents suggested some areas of improvement necessary to cater for local SMEs in

their tendering processes. They include educating SMEs on procurement procedures,

procurement from companies/businesses of equal sizes, revising tendering requirements to

accommodate SMEs, discouraging SMEs from overpricing their products/services, considering

other factors apart from price, and reserving some portions of tenders for SMEs.

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5.9. Summary of findings and conclusions

5.9.1. Summary of Findings

1. The most common essential services procured services at the Ministry of Local

Government are stationery and printing services, cleaning services and equipment, catering

services and foodstuffs respectively. The majority of the procurement is from local

businesses and the Department of Supplies.

2. Essential products mostly sourced from local suppliers include stationery, food stuffs,

cleaning materials, furniture, vehicle spares, building materials, catering services, as well as

protective clothing in the respective order. Furniture, cleaning materials, protective

clothing, stationery, staff uniform, and office repairs are products purchased mostly from

the department of suppliesii. Products sourced mostly from both local businesses and the

department of supplies are stationery, cleaning materials, furniture, and protective clothing.

3. In 2005/6 the Ministry of Local Government spent 34% of their total expenditure on SME

procurement and the corresponding figure for 2005/6 was 37%. The rest of the expenditures

went to large enterprises while expenditure from parastatals and NGOs was negligible.The

average of (44%) has rated food stuffs as of satisfactory quality. Quality of stationery has

been rated as satisfactory at (67%). Cleaning materials (48%), furniture (26%), vehicle spares

(15%), protective clothing (11%), building materials (9%), and catering services (9%) have

also been generally rated as being of satisfactory quality.

4. Generally, the quality of products and services from SMEs was rated as being of acceptable

quality. The pricing of the products and services however received mixed feeling responses

of being fair and expensive.

5. The delivery times for most of the products and services were generally rated as

satisfactory (i.e. average to excellent). The products that recorded the highest satisfaction

delivery times were cleaning materials, foodstuffs, stationery and furniture in that order.

6. Majority of the ministry’s respondents (93%) pay their suppliers within a month of delivery

with the rest paying later than 1 month after delivery of goods and services.

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7. The most common used procurement instrument used by Ministry of Local Government

is the Supplies and Regulations Act and the least used is the PPADB Act. A considerable

proportion (69%) of the respondents reported that their procurement policies have

deliberate priorities for procuring from SMEs. These priorities are in the form of reserving

some certain supply opportunities for SMEs

8. The essential products/services preferred to be sourced from local SMEs are cleaning

equipments/services and toiletry, stationery and printing services, foodstuffs and catering

services respectively.

9. Several advantages of doing business with local SMEs are that they are easily accessible,

there is reduction in transportation costs, delivery times and related costs, affordable

pricing, as well as the fact that economic growth is greatly fostered.

10. Challenges in doing business with local SMEs, which stems as areas of improvement

include, among others; poor product/service quality, late deliveries, insufficient stocks, no

fixed areas of operation and lack of capacity. These challenges are mainly addressed

through educating the local SMEs on service delivery improvements. Other ways of

addressing the challenges entails excluding those who fail to supply, cancelling orders, and

giving them delivery time extensions.

11. The respondents suggested some areas of improvement necessary to cater for local SMEs

in their tendering processes. They include educating SMEs on procurement procedures,

procurement from companies/businesses of equal sizes, revising tendering requirements to

accommodate SMEs, discouraging SMEs from overpricing their products/services,

considering other factors apart from price, and reserving some portions of tenders for

SMEs.

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5.9.2. Conclusions

Ministry of Local Government provides a generally notable support to local SMEs in terms of

procurement opportunities offered, provisions for SMEs in procurement policies, and

expenditure, as well as willingness to extend the support even further. The most essential

products and services required by the Ministry are easily accessible locally and some of them

could also be supplied by local SMEs. These include stationery and printing services, cleaning

services and equipment, toiletry, furniture, office equipment and repairs, catering services and

foodstuffs, staff uniform, and protective clothing. All these essential products were purchased

locally from both local SMEs, large enterprises and the Department of Supplies. No purchases

were made from foreign based businesses.

Even though most part of the Ministry’s budget is expended on local large enterprises, SMEs

were still able to capture a considerable share as they attracted an average of 35% of the

ministry’s budget expenditure. The SMEs have the opportunity to increase their expenditure

share provided it is equally matched with capacity development on the part of the SMEs. The

respondents are generally satisfied with the quality and delivery times for products and services

sourced from the local SMEs. The SMEs however need to pay attention to their product pricing

because the respondents are generally of the view that the SMEs product/service pricing is

inflated and therefore outcompeting themselves.

The ministry also has provisions for offering SMEs priorities in procurement opportunities in

their procurement policies. It is worth noting however, that much is desired to be done in as far

as advocating for reservations for procurement in these policies is concerned. Inability to source

some of the essential products and services locally, coupled with identified advantages of doing

business with local SMEs, and suggested improvements in the tendering processes specifically

to accommodate and empower local SMEs are some of the most lucrative opportunities

available for SMEs in the government procurement systems. Further, the fact that the identified

challenges of dealing with SMEs are also somehow addressed by the respondents also presents

an opportunity for the LEA to ensure further coordination of such initiatives.

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6.0. COUNCILS FINDINGS

6.1 Council most frequently Purchased Products/Services

The study covered 8 council headquarters offices, five sub district councils and one unit within

Gaborone City Council (Annex A6.1). The main reason for enumerating a department

independent of the main council is that the department is independent from the council in as far

as procurement is concerned

In this section councils were requested to list six of their frequently procured products and

services, they were also asked to state how often they procure them where they procure them

rate the quality, price and delivery times. The results indicate that most products which were

mentioned by councils as frequently procured products were stationary (63%), food stuffs,

cleaning materials furniture, vehicle spare parts all at 50% and building materials (42.9%). The

remaining products and services were mentioned by fewer councils (less than 30%) as their

frequently procured products/services. The analyses done in this section were based only on

products and services stated as frequently procured by councils.

Table 6.1: Councils mostly procured Products and Services Districts Frequency PercentageStationery 9 64.3 Food Stuffs 7 50.0Cleaning Materials 7 50.0 Furniture 7 50.0 Vehicles Spares 7 50.0Building Materials 6 42.9 Protective Clothing 3 21.4 Fuels 2 14.3 Lubricants 2 14.3Plumbing Materials 2 14.3 Destitute Rations 2 14.3 Toiletry 1 7.1 Electrical Materials 1 7.1 Waste Management 1 7.1 Office Equip Repair/Services 1 7.1 Machinery Spares 1 7.1

N= 14 6.1.1. Stationery

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The figure below show that stationery was the most purchased product by councils, nine out of

fourteen district councils (64.3%) said stationery is one of their frequently procured product.

Most district councils (55.6%) buy stationery monthly 22.2% buy it when needed and 11.1% buy

it quarterly and once a year. All districts councils said they buy stationery locally. The quality of

stationery was satisfactory for most district councils, 66.7 % said the quality is good and the

remaining 33.3% said it was excellent. In terms of pricing most councils said the pricing of

stationery was fair (66.7%) and a significant number 33.3% felt stationery was expensive. Almost

all councils were happy with the delivery times of stationery, 55.6% said delivery time was

average and 33.3% and 11.1% said the delivery times were good and excellent respectively

Fig 6.1: Stationery frequency of Purchase & Rating

6.1.2. Food Stuffs. The results show that most councils buy foodstuffs monthly (42.9%) followed by quarterly at

28.6% and the remaining councils buy food stuffs daily and weekly at 14.3 percent. All councils

buy food stuffs locally. The quality of foodstuff was satisfactory for all councils, 23.6% said the

quality of food stuff is average and 71.4 percent said the quality is good and no council rate food

stuff quality lower than average. District councils felt food stuffs are expensive (57.1%), 28.6%

felt the pricing is fair and 14.3% said the pricing was reasonable. In terms of delivery time most

10/07/2009

councils were happy with it, 42.9 felt the delivery time was good and the remaining 57.1 percent

said the delivery time was excellent. It should be noted that food was not a frequently procured

products by half (7) of the district councils. Part of the explanation for this is that though

councils buy foods stuffs for their various programmes (destitutes,primary schools feeding and

supplementary feeding programmes procurement tenders fo such products are mostly awarded

annually. This would therefore mean that for such products suppliers are engaged to supply for

the full duration of a financial year.

Fig 6.2: Foodstuffs frequency of Purchase and Rating

6.1.3. Cleaning Materials Cleaning materials was another product mentioned by councils as their frequently procured

products, it is mostly bought quarterly by 62.5% of district councils the remaining councils said

they buy it monthly, once a year and twice a year each at 12.5 percent. Cleaning materials like

food stuffs and stationery is also 100% sourced locally. The quality of cleaning materials was

perceived to be satisfactory by most councils with 87.5% reporting a positive rating for the

quality of cleaning materials it is however important to note that 12.5% reported that the quality

of cleaning materials from SMMEs was poor. District councils were divided when it comes to

pricing of cleaning materials, half said the pricing was fair and the remaining half said it was

expensive and on delivery time all councils felt the delivery times are above average.

Table 6.2: Cleaning Materials frequency of Purchase & Ratings

Cleaning Material

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6.1.4. Furniture Councils indicated (See Annex A6.5) that they mostly procure furniture when they need it 42.9%,

this is an indication that there is generally no specific time frame for procuring furniture. The

remaining 57.2% said they buy furniture quarterly, once a year, Bi-Monthly and after more than a

year each at 14.3 percent. The quality of furniture was good for 57.1% of councils, 14.3 % said

the quality is excellent and the remaining 14.3% said the quality was very poor. The pricing of

furniture was said to be fair by 71.4% and 28.6% said furniture is expensive. The delivery times

were above average for all councils.

6.1.5. Vehicle Spares

The results show (See Annex A6.6) that most councils (42.9%) buy spares monthly, 28.6% buy

them whenever they need them and 14.3% said they buy them both quarterly and daily.

According to the results vehicle spares are sourced locally at 85.7% and 14.3% councils source

them both locally and from foreign business. A higher proportion of councils 85.7% felt that the

pricing of vehicle spares were expensive and 14.3% said the pricing was fair, generally the

delivery time of vehicle spares was above average, 42.9% said it was excellent 28.6% felt it was

good and 14.3% said it was average.

6.1.6. Building Materials.

The results show (See Annex A6.7) that 50.0% of councils buy building materials monthly, the

remaining buy it quarterly(6.7%), weekly (6.7%) and when needed(6,7%). Building materials is

mostly sourced locally in councils (83.3%) and 16.7% indicated that they source it both locally

and from foreign business. The quality, pricing and delivery times of building materials were on

average good for most councils, 83.3% said the quality was average and above, 66.7% felt the

pricing was fair and all councils rated the delivery times to average and above.

6.1.7. Overall Assessment of Products

This section compares the perception of councils on quality, pricing and delivery times of SMEs.

The aim is to compare one aspect for all products/services to get a holistic picture of that aspect

Frequency of Procurement Source Quality of Products Pricing Delivery Time

Monthly Quarterly Once a year Twice a year locally Poor Average Good Excellent Fair Expensive Average Good Excellent

12.5 62.5 12.5 12.5 100 12.5 37.5 37.5 12.5 50 50 50 37.5 12.5

10/07/2009

in relation to SMEs. The comparison will only be done for the first six frequently procured

products/services.

6.1.7.1. Quality

The quality of products from SMEs was perceived to be good for most products/services. In all

the six frequently procured products cleaning materials, furniture and building materials were the

only products in which some councils felt their quality was poor. In cleaning materials 12.5%

said the quality was poor, furniture 14.3% felt the quality was very poor and building materials

16.7% said the quality of building materials from SMEs was poor

Fig 6.3: Quality of frequently procured Products & Services

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6.1.7.2. Pricing According to the results there was a variation in terms of pricing of products/services, most

councils felt that food stuffs, cleaning materials and vehicle spares from SMEs were expensive,

57.1% felt food stuffs were expensive, 50% said SMEs are expensive when pricing cleaning

materials and 85.7% of councils felt vehicle spares from SMEs are expensive.

Fig 6.4: Pricing of frequently procured Products & Services

6.1.7.3. Delivery Times

In terms of delivery times SMEs were doing well in almost all products/services. All councils

rated delivery times above average in almost all councils except in vehicle spares were 14.3% said

the delivery time was poor.

6.1.7.4. Payment Times

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Most councils (42.9%) said they pay entrepreneurs 14 days after delivery followed by those who

pay one week after delivery at 35.7%, two councils (14.3%) pay on delivery and one (7.1%) pay

one month after delivery. It is very encouraging to observe that all councils pay within a month,

this is very important for SMEs because they need cash follow for their daily operations.

6.2. Councils Expenditures

The data show that SMEs get a higher share in councils procurement, in the last two financial

years SMEs got 67.5% and 63.5% of the total expenditures covered for all councils. According to

the results large companies got 25.5% share in 2005/06 and 30.8% in 2006/07. Government,

Parastatals and NGOs also supply councils with goods and services but their participation is not

highly significant. In the two years covered in this study government, parastatals and NGOs got

7.3% share of total expenditure in 2005/06 and 5.7% in 2006/07 (See Annex A6.10).

Table 6.3 Percentage expenditure by level of enterprise 2005/06 2006/07 SME 67.47 63.50 Large 25.20 30.83Government 5.81 4.62 Parastatal 1.50 1.03 NGO 0.02 0.03 Total 100 100

6.2.1. Expenditure Share of products to total councils’ expenditure In this section all products/services with more than 1% of total council’s expenditure in both the

two financial years were taken as top expenditure items (Critical products/services for SMEs).

They are considered critical products/services for SMEs because they take a larger share of

council’s expenditures and if SMEs can provide them automatically they will take significant

shares from councils. It is however important to note that some products which attracted high

expenditure are a bit technical to be supplied by SMEs. According to the data foodstuffs

recorded the highest expenditure in both the two financial years followed by fuels & lubricants,

vehicle services, repair & parts, water utilities and services and building materials. It is also

evident that some products/services which were mentioned as frequently purchased products are

10/07/2009

not in the top five high expenditure items; this may suggest that these products/services are

expensive. These are stationery, cleaning services and furniture.

Fig 6.5.: Expenditure Share of products to total councils’ expenditure

The results show that even though total expenditure for councils increased by 3.8% from

2005/06 to 2006/07 the increase cannot directly translated to products/services for the two

years. Some products experienced a fall in expenditure while some experienced an increase in

expenditure. Foodstuffs though remaining the top product in the two financial years experienced

a fall of 6455133.59 (6%), training Services, Clothing and Protective Clothing all experienced a

fall of 3% in their actual expenditures. Stationery, Accommodation, catering & conference

10/07/2009

facilities all had a 4% increase in expenditures, fuels and Lubricants increased by 2% and the

remaining products increased or decreased by 1% or less (See annex A6.8)

6.3. Procurement Policies All the surveyed District Councils are using some form of regulations or policies in their

procurement undertakings. The most cited is the Supplies Regulations and Procedures with 11 of

councils reporting to use it and the least is the Tender Regulation and Procurement Procedures

reported by only 2 councils. Three (3) councils were using more than one procurement

instrument; 2 were using the Supplies Regulations and Procedures together with the PPADB Act

and 1 was using the Supplies Regulations and Procedures and the Tender Regulation and

Procurement Procedures. Almost all the reported procurement guidelines are similar to those

used by Central government departments, pointing to uniformity in procurement across all

government levels.

Most of the councils (13) indicated that procurement from Local SMEs was considered a priority

in their respective organizations. However when it comes to such priority being supported by the

various procurement guidelines, this was found wanting as only 3 councils reported to have

specific reservations for local SMEs. It should also be of interest to note that none of the 14

councils mentioned the Presidential Directive Cab memo of 2004 as one of their procurement

guidelines. This memo is the most explicit document that requires priority to be accorded to

locally manufactured goods and services in procurement.. It is against this background that it

becomes difficult to ascertain how the prioritization reported earlier is implemented if it is not

referenced by any of the councils procurement guidelines.

They few councils that reported the existence of reservations in their organizations indicated that

they reserve certain products and services for local businesses; and that at tender evaluations,

priority is given to local companies. A close scrutiny of the above reservation, however, shows

that these reservations are not specific to SMEs but to local companies as a whole, large

enterprises inclusive. This would, therefore, mean that SMEs may still be exposed to competition

from local Large Scale Enterprises (LSEs).

6.4. Potential Business for SMEs

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A slightly more than half of the councils (8) have a number of products and services that they

would prefer to buy from local SMEs in the future. Table 6.1 below shows that councils mostly

prefer to buy destitute rations and foodstuffs (75%) from local SMEs. The least preferred

products and services include amongst others decorations and gardening or landscaping services.

Table6. 3: Products and Services Preferred from SMEs Products & Services Frequency PercentDestitute Rations / Foodstuffs 6 75 Building Materials 3 37.5 Cleaning Materials 2 25.0 Protective Clothing 2 25.0Vehicle Purchases& servicing/repairs 2 25.0 Decorations 1 12.5 Gardening/Landscaping Services 1 12.5 Machinery Repairs/Services 1 12.5 Security Services/Equipment 1 12.5 Stationery 1 12.5

*N=8 **Percentages are horizontal

Seven (7) of the above councils reported that procurement from SMEs is a priority in their

organizations and a further 3 of the councils had policies and guidelines providing SME

reservations in their procurement activities. The challenges faced by councils in doing business

with SMEs are somewhat similar to those reported by Central governments departments and

parastatals (see A6.1). These challenges reflect overall poor business practices amongst the SMEs

with indicators such as late delivery of goods and services, supply of poor quality goods, failure

to deliver, inconsistent pricing and non-adherence to contracts amongst others. The most

encouraging aspect about this finding ought to be that despite these challenges, these councils

still have preference for local SMEs procurement. Part of the main reasons for this preference

may be the ease of access to SMEs which was reported as an advantage by all the 8 councils.

When it comes to addressing the challenges faced by councils in local SMEs procurement, half

of the councils (4) preferring to buy from local SMEs would advise the SMEs to improve on

service delivery, 3 councils would take drastic actions such as cancelling orders and excluding

such suppliers from future procurement (see annex A6.2). These actions should serve as a

message to SMEs that though councils are willing to do business with them, they would not put

up with poor business practices.

Almost half (6) councils would prefer not to buy any of their products and services from local

SMEs in future. Notably, all these councils indicated that procurement from local SMEs was a

10/07/2009

priority in their organizations yet none of them had any policy providing for SMEs reservations.

Of the 6 councils that would prefer not to buy their products from SMEs in the future, 5 had

encountered challenges when dealing with SMEs in the past. The challenges experienced were

late delivery of goods and services, insufficient supply and lack of fixed offices for local SMEs.

These challenges may have contributed to council’s loss of interest in SME procurement in the

future.

In response to the above challenges in the past, none of the councils have cancelled orders, a

drastic measure sometimes taken by disappointed SME customers. They instead, have advised

SMEs to improve on service delivery, given them time extensions for delivery and encouraged

them to employ adequate and skilled personnel for improved service. There was also 1 council

that had never encountered any challenges in SMEs procurement in the past but was no longer

interested in dealing with SMEs in the future. This would overall, mean that though disinterested

in SMEs currently, these councils are still amenable to changing their procurement preferences.

This is therefore, a window of opportunity for LEA interventions in harmonizing these

differences.

In addition addressing the challenges discussed above, councils also had suggestions on how the

current tendering processes should be improved to make it more beneficial for the SMEs. Out

of the 10 that had suggestions, 4 suggested that SMEs should be educated on the current

procurement procedures and processes (see annex A6.3) and 3 said SMEs should be educated on

business management practices. These two suggestions are not necessarily for the tendering

processes per-se, but these concerns are probably emanating from the interaction between

councils and SMEs. The suggestion that SMEs need procurement processes and business

management education is an indication that they are willing to continue doing business with

SMEs as long as improvements are made. These are issues that can be addressed without

necessarily tampering with any procurement guidelines or regulations, because it they are mainly

capacity building issues.

As for suggestions that are procurement specific, councils suggested that companies of the same

size should be made to compete amongst themselves; some tenders should be reserved for

SMEs; and that councils should have PPADB Committee members in their procurement bodies.

All these suggestions appear favourable to local SMEs and fortify the councils accommodative

views on local SMEs procurement. This is therefore an opportunity for SMEs to increase their

market share in the council’s procurement so that they can promulgate across the country, even

in areas generally considered remote.

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6.5. Summary of Findings-Councils

1. The five most frequently purchased products and services amongst councils are

stationery, foodstuffs, cleaning materials, furniture and vehicle spares and services

respectively.

2. The products and services that attracted the highest expenditures for the financial years

under review were foodstuffs, fuels and lubricants, vehicle spares and services, utilities

and related services and building materials

3. Councils purchase all their products and services locally except vehicle spares.

4. Councils pay their suppliers within a month after delivery of services and services.

5. The majority of products and services are procured on a monthly basis.

6. The quality, pricing and delivery times of most products and services were positively

rated by most of the councils.

7. Three products and services; foodstuffs, cleaning materials and vehicle spares were

perceived to be relatively expensive by the majority of councils.

8. A larger proportion of the council’s expenditure on products and services goes to SMEs

as compared to central government and parastatals expenditure.

9. The majority of councils consider procurement from SMEs as a priority area but they do

not have the backing of procurement policies or guidelines to implement the

prioritization.

10. Almost all the procurement guidelines used by councils are similar to those used by

Central government departments, implying uniformity in procurement across all

government levels (local and central).

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11. Councils mostly prefer to buy foodstuffs from local SMEs, this product attracts the

highest expenditure amongst councils for the period under review.

12. The challenges that councils face when dealing with SMEs centre on the problems of

overall poor business practices.

13. Councils are generally lenient when dealing with SMEs, most of the times they advise

them on improving service delivery and giving them time extensions.

14. Councils are not suggesting any major changes to the procurement policies and

guidelines, but are rather suggesting that SMEs capacity issues should be addressed

through education on procurement and business management practices.

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6.6. Conclusion

The study has established that the five most frequently procured products and services for

councils are stationery, foodstuffs, cleaning materials, furniture and vehicle spares respectively.

As for expenditure, the top five products and services that attracted the high expenditures are

foodstuffs, fuels and lubricants, vehicle spares and services, utilities and related services and

building materials. Foodstuffs are consistently high in both the purchasing frequency and

expenditure mainly because of the various social safety net programmes administered under the

councils on behalf of both Central and Local Governments.

The combined expenditure for the 2005/6 and 2006/7 financial years for the councils under

review is close to P280 million; 65% of this expenditure going to SME procurement. This is the

highest proportion SMEs expenditure when compared to both central government and

parastatals procurement expenditure. Councils’ procurement is also mostly dominated by

local business. In addition, councils prefer to buy most of their products and services from local

SMEs.

The challenges faced by councils when dealing with SMEs are fairly similar to those experienced

by central government and parastatals, with the underlying themes pointing towards poor

business practices, capacity issues. These constraints are not peculiar to local SMEs only, but

have been faulted the world over as major constraints to SME prosperity. There are currently no

specific procurement regulations or policies giving SMEs the edge over other supplier categories.

However, the goodwill the councils are extending to SMEs by preferring them over other

suppliers should be maximized by addressing the shortcomings identified. Such interventions

would fit perfectly within the mandates of organizations such as the LEA.

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6.7. Expenditures by Ministries for 2005/6 and 2006/7.

This brief highlights the tender values/ amount of money spent on different products and

services per ministry, during the financial years 2005/06 and 2006/07. Some of the products and

services were reported to be essential by the ministries, while others were not, depending on the

operations of each ministries. Products and services were procured from local businesses, foreign

businesses and the Department of Supply.

The figures in this write up are based only on the information that was found on the available

files during data collection. They, therefore, do not cover all expenditure of the ministries

covered by this study for 2005/06 and 2006/07 financial years.

6.8.1. Ministry of Education

Annex 6.14 depicts all products and services that were procured by the Ministry of Education for

the two financial years. During the financial year 2005/06, the mostly purchased product (in

terms of value) in the ministry was food stuffs P47,641,423.74. The foodstuff’s expenditure

increased in the next financial year to about P599,866,612.05. Foodstuff is an essential product

especially for the learning institutions, and all government schools in Botswana offer meals to

students on a daily basis. In some instances students are provided with meals three or four times

a day. This is usually the case in boarding schools. The second highest expenditure of about of

P37,704,401.93 in the year 2005/06 was for stationery. Although it was the second highest again

in 2006/07, its expenditure had dropped to P29,567,286.64. Foodstuff and stationery are

considered necessities in the ministry. The learning institutions/schools by their nature use

learning materials and teaching materials such as textbooks paper, pens, writing pads/note books

on a daily basis. As such the importance of stationery and food in the Ministry of Education

cannot be overemphasized.

Electrical works, including electrical material and appliances, came third with an expenditure of

about P6,011,222.12 in 2005/06. However, its expenditure decreased a lot to about

P3,499,825.38 in the following financial year. Another outstanding expenditure in 2006/07 was

on training services, to the tune of P7,673,473.81. This was almost a threefold increase from the

previous P2,654,118.83 of the financial year 2005/06. This increase in purchases could be a

result of the construction of new schools, upgrading and expansion of the existing schools

around the country to cater for the escalating number of students.

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During the financial year 2005/06 the Ministry of Education spent less on products such as

investments, livestock purchases and signage amongst others, with expenditures of about

P3936.00, P5506.95 and P15,868.84 respectively. The expenditure on investment, however, rose

to about P2,000,000.00 in 2006/07.

6.8.2. Ministry of Health

Medication, health equipment and services had the highest expenditure during the two financial

years, and a combined total of about P190,526,789.80. These are basically the core products of

the Ministry of Health, and their expenditure increased in 2006/07 (refer to annex 6.15.). This

rise may be attributed to an increase in the number of medical facilities and the expansion of the

existing ones (hospitals and primary hospitals), to cater for the ever increasing number of people

seeking medical help in Botswana. Foodstuffs had the second highest expenditure of about

P74,318,044.80 for the two financial years. This is mainly food provided to the in-patients in the

hospitals. Cleaning materials and chemicals followed at about P18,257,095.37.

Products with less expenditure over the two years were agricultural products, vehicle services,

repairs and parts with expenditures of about P1,094.75 and P1,261.86 respectively.

Annex 6 summarizes total expenditures for each ministry for the 2005/06 and 2006/07 financial

years. The Ministry of health tops with the total expenditure of P 369,951,821.80. It is followed

by the Ministry of Local Government at P2,361,473,412.00, Ministry of Education at

P418,223,385.90, Ministry of Works and Transport at P142,106,356.90 and lastly the Ministry of

Agriculture at P115,606,756.00.

6.8.3. Ministry of Agriculture

A total of P44,554,577.53 was spent on agricultural products in both financial years 2005/06 and

2006/07. These are products related to the core business of the ministry, such as equipment,

seeds, fertilizers and others. A lot of these products were procured in the year 2006/07, hence a

huge increase in the expenditure of that year, amounting to P35,038,787.15. IT equipment and

services had the second highest expenditure of about P13,463,274,18 for the two financial years,

with the huge increase during 2006/07. Building materials also had a significant expenditure of

about P10,273,890.79 for the two years. Annex 6.16 indicates that agricultural products, IT

equipment and services and building materials are the three mostly purchased products for the

two financial years. It follows without doubt therefore that these are the essential products in the

Ministry of Agriculture.

10/07/2009

Still in this ministry, welding materials/services, funeral services and decorations attracted the

least expenditures of about P2597, P2966 and 5856.65 respectively for both years.

6.8.4. Ministry of Local Government

Annex 6.17 shows that construction works had the highest expenditure (both years) of about

P1,654,796,435.00, with financial year 2006/07 much higher than the previous one. This

ministry’s mandate includes the construction of infrastructure such as roads, sewerage systems,

clinics and many others in the district councils around the country. Foodstuffs followed with a

total expenditure of about P250,599,574.50. This ministry also has the responsibility of providing

food to the primary schools, destitutes, orphaned children etc, hence this high expenditure on

foodstuffs. The ministry also spent a lot of money on consultancy and testing services, about

P92,997,360.23.

Less expenditure was recorded for decorating materials and services (P25,753,00), welding

materials and services (P28,760.01) and the Botswana flag (P30,213.80).

6.8.5. Ministry of Works and Transport

Vehicle services/repairs/parts, electrical works/materials/appliances and building materials had

the highest total expenditures of P91,495,627.35, P6,556,042.34 and P6,125,032.78 respectively.

This is the ministry that houses the Department of Building and Engineering Services (DBES)

and the Central Transport Organization (CTO), hence a high expenditure on the above

mentioned products and services. As shown in annex 6.18, the expenditure on these products

and services keeps on rising as a result of developmental projects being carried out around the

country.

The ministry spent the least amount of money on funeral services, sportswear/equipment and

livestock with about P2,848.20, P3,055.50 and P4,500.00 respectively. These products are not of

critical relevance to this ministry, and were not identified as essential products and/or services by

the ministry.

10/07/2009

7.0.Parastatals Results and Findings

7.1. Location and Number of Enumerated Parastatals All 33 parastatals in Botswana were targeted for the survey. However, only 24 parastatals were

studied, which is 73% of the parastatals in Botswana. Data was only collected from each

parastatal’s head offices.

7.2. Frequently Procured Products and Services by Parastatals Parastatals require various products and services in the execution of their mandates. Annex 2

shows the frequently procured products and services for each of the parastatals.

According to Table 7.1 below, the most frequently procured product amongst parastatals is

stationery, which was reported by (79%) of the parastatals. This is expected because stationery is

used daily in most of the offices. Other common products and services in order of procurement

frequency are cleaning services (46%), foodstuffs (42%), accommodation, catering and

conference facilities (42%) and furniture (38%). The least procured products are agricultural

products, electrical materials and works, refrigeration and telecommunications equipment and

services which were reported by one parastatal each. These products and services are not

common because they are specific consumables to certain parastatals due to the nature of their

main activities.

10/07/2009

Table 7.1.: Products & Services Frequently Procured by

Parastatals

Item

Number

of

Parastatals

Percent

(%)

Stationery 19 79

Cleaning Services 11 46

Food Stuffs 10 42

Accommodation, Catering & Conference Facilities 10 42

Furniture 9 38

Construction Works 8 33

Cleaning Materials 7 29

Sportswear/Equipment 6 25

Fuels & Lubricants 5 21

IT Equipments & Services 5 21

Consultancy Services 4 17

Security Services/Equipment 4 17

Advertising Services 3 13

Office Equipment/machinery 3 13

Vehicle Purchases & Repairs 3 13

Building Materials 2 8

Gardening/Landscaping Services 2 8

Legal Services 2 8

Staff Uniform 2 8

Transport 2 8

Machinery Spares & Repairs/Services 2 8

Agricultural Products 1 4

Electrical Materials 1 4

Electrical Works 1 4

Refrigeration 1 4

Telecom Equipment & Services 1 4

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7.3. Expenditure on Products and Services

According to the 2005/6 and 2006/7 expenditure data obtained from parastatals, the combined

expenditure on products and services for the period amounted to almost P1.2 billion (A7.10).

The data shows that construction works and materials had the highest expenditure at P271,

909,152.24 for the period under review. Construction works include items such as office space

and residential property construction and maintenance, erection and maintenance of fences,

boundary walls, gate repairs, plumbing, doors and window repairs. The building materials

associated with the above works are also included under this category. The expenditure on

construction and associated building materials represents a substantial window of opportunity

for the SMEs if these levels of expenditure can be sustained.

The second highest expenditure recorded was electrical works, materials and appliances at P122,

103, 540.73 for the two financial years. This area includes the procurement of wiring services and

maintenance and associated materials, electrical products such as plugs, sockets, stoves, electric

motors, gates and fences. It is also worth noting that construction works and electrical works are

closely associated, in fact, there are cases where the two are procured as a package.

These two items, construction and electrical works, though reported by fewer parastatals( 8 and

1 parastatal respectively) as frequently purchased services compared to items such as stationery

and cleaning services, they still attracted the highest expenditure for the period under review.

This may be an indicator that the two are high value works and the materials associated with the

works are also generally purchased at above average prices. This is also one of the potential areas

that the SMEs could venture into, taking into account that some of the works, especially

maintenance, do not require specialized equipment or skills to undertake.

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Stationery, though mentioned by the highest number of parastatals (19) as a frequently procured

product, its expenditure is relatively low at P26, 922,796.14 for the period under review. Part of

the reasons for this mismatch could be that stationery is a low value product such that despite

the high procurement, the costs for stationery are relatively low such that large quantities can be

obtained by lower costs as compared to other low procurement, high value products. Other low

value, high procurement products include, amongst others, cleaning services and cleaning

materials

Considerable expenditure was also recorded for two related products; close to P81 million was

spent on fuels and lubricants and about P74 million was spent on vehicle servicing, repairs and

spare parts for the two financial years. In most cases, fuels and lubricants are supplied by large

companies sometimes through franchises, so it would be difficult for SMEs to penetrate the

established fuel industry market. However, vehicle repairs and supply of vehicle spare parts can

be areas of opportunities that SMEs can venture into.

Other products although mentioned as frequently procured products, did not attract

commensurate expenditure. Such products include, amongst others, staff uniform which

received the lowest expenditure of P48, 620.00 amongst the reported frequently purchased

products and services. It is also worth noting that some products and services were not reported

as frequently procured but still received expenditure considerably higher than reported products.

Such products and services include clothing and safety equipment (P6.5 million), corporate

merchandise (P5.28 million) and training services (P5 million) respectively. It is not possible,

however, to conclusively label the above products as high-value/low-procurement products

because their frequency of purchase was not reported by the parastatals.

7.4. Frequency of the Purchase of Products & Services The frequency of procurement of products and services varies across organizations but the

general trend amongst the parastatals shows that it depends on the core activities of the

organization, frequency of use or need and the durability of the product being procured. Of the

26 frequently procured products and services reported in Table 7.1 above, 40% of the

parastatals were procuring them on a monthly (includes daily and weekly) basis. Products and

services with a high frequency of purchase under this category are stationery, foodstuffs and

cleaning materials (see A7.3).

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There are about 5.6% of the products and services that have the lowest frequency of purchase

amongst all the parastatals. These products are vehicle purchases, furniture, construction and

electrical works and accommodation services. Four (4) Parastatals reported that they procure

construction works, electrical works and furniture in more than a year intervals. This is expected

for such products and services because they are all durable and last for a longer period of time.

In fact, construction and electrical works are mostly procured together as a package by 1

parastatal involved in the provision of housing.

7.5. Sources of Frequently Procured Products and Services According to Figure 7.1 below, (87%) of the products and services were procured from local

businesses while procurement from both local and foreign and foreign owned businesses was

relatively low at (8%) and (5%) respectively.

Figure 7.1: Sources of Frequently procured Products and Services

Some of the products that were procured from foreign businesses consist of specialized or high

technology products such as telecommunications equipment, machinery and machinery spares,

lubricants and electrical materials. It is generally expected that when doing procurement,

(87%)

(5%) (8%)

010

20 30 40 50

60 70

80 90

%

Local businesses Foreign businesses Local & ForeignBusinesses

Source

10/07/2009

organizations will usually source their products and services requirements locally before

procuring from foreign businesses. The procurement of the above services externally may be

pointing to a possibility of there being limited and or no local suppliers for such products locally.

7.6. Parastatals Procurement Records for 2005/6 and 2006/7 Years Parastatals procurement records were captured for the 2005/6 and 2006/7 financial years from

22 parastatals. According to the summary of expenditures in Table 7.2. below, the total

parastatals expenditure for the 2005/6 financial year was P629,282,091.10 of which half (50%)

was spent on procurement from SMEs while the other half (49.80%) was spent on large

enterprises. Foreign procurement for the 2005/6 financial year was very insignificant with a

proportion of less than 1 %.

The total procurement for 2006/7 was slightly less than the previous year’s figure at P556,

817,068.8. During this procurement period, the large enterprises only had a slight proportion

reduction to 48% while SMEs procurement went down to 41% and the foreign procurement

expenditure increased substantially to 11%.

Table 7.2.: Parastatals Summary Expenditure for 2005/6 and 2006/7

Size of

Enterprise

2005/06

Expenditure

(in Pula) Percent

2006/7

Expenditure

(in Pula) Percent

SMEs 314,641,045.5 50.15 228,294,998.2 41

Large Enterprises 313,571,266 49.83 267,272,193 48

Foreign

Enterprises 100,685.13 0.016 61,249,877.57 11

Total 629,282,091.10 100 556,817,068.8 100

*NOTES

• Data derived from parastatals procurement records for 2005/6 and 2006/7 financial years

• Classification of companies was done internally by LEA

In the 2005/6 financial year, foreign procurement was recorded for only one parastatal at less

than (1%) of its procurement budget while for the 2006/7 financial years, 6 parastatals procured

from foreign companies (refer to A7.4). The highest foreign procurement expenditure was at

(26%) and the lowest was at (0.08%) of the total procurement for that year. This increase in the

number of parastatals buying from foreign companies between the 2005/6 and 2006/7 years

10/07/2009

may partly explain the increased proportion of foreign expenditure which increased from

(0.016%) to (12%) between the two financial years.

In 2005/6 only 2 parastatals spent at least (70%) of their procurement budgets on SMEs, with

the highest parastatal spending 78% (P3.9 million) followed by 71.8% (P9.6 million) of their

expenditures on SMEs respectively. For 2006/7, 3 parastatals spent at least 70% of the

procurement expenditure on SMEs, with the highest spending 87 % (P74.1million), followed by

80% (P29.8 million) and 70.4 % (P1.1 million) respectively. The lowest procurement

expenditures on SMEs for the 2 financial years are as low as 19% and 14% respectively (refer to

A7.4).

7.7. Business with Local SMEs In order to assess the confidence of parastatals on SMEs, respondents were asked to rate the

process of doing business with local SMEs in terms of quality, pricing and the timely delivery of

products and services. The rating option for each of the above variables was based on a 5 point

scale with 1 representing very poor and 5 being excellent.

7.7.1. Quality of Products & Services Local businesses are doing relatively well in terms of quality of products and services procured

by parastatals. All the products and services from local businesses received a positive rating from

parastatals; 60% were rated as of good quality, 29 % were average and 11% received an excellent

quality rating (refer to A7.6). None of the products and services from local businesses received a

negative rating of either poor or very poor. However, when compared to products and services

procured from both local and foreign businesses, products from local businesses are lowly rated

as 43% of products from local and foreign businesses are rated excellent and the corresponding

figure for local businesses being only 11%. It should, however, be noted that parastatals do not

have any internal and formal way of determining the quality of products and services and their

perceptions are mostly informed by experiences from using such products and services. That

notwithstanding, it is safe to conclude that the quality of products and services supplied by the

local businesses is satisfactory to the majority of the parastatals.

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7.7.2. Pricing of Products & Services

As for pricing, overall most of the responses were of the view that the pricing of products and

services by the local SMEs was fair (67%), with a few responses indicating that they were

affordable (7%) and the rest (26%) said to be expensive. A total of 7 products and services were

rated as affordable. Amongst these products, cleaning services and accommodation received

more responses, than the rest of the products (see A7.7 in the annexure).

Of the three pricing categories, fair pricing received the most responses, with 20 products and

services being rated as fair. Amongst the fair priced rated products and services, stationery was

rated to be fair by 16 parastatals, followed by food stuffs rated by 8 and cleaning materials and

cleaning services rated by 6 each.

An expensive rating was recorded for 19 of the frequently procured products and services.

Construction works was considered expensive by 4 parastatals closely followed by furniture with

3 responses.

Within the frequently procured products and services that were rated by 10 or more parastatals,

stationery was rated as fair by 84% of the respondents, closely followed by foodstuffs which

were also rated as fair by 80% and accommodation by 50% of the respondents.

A cross tabulation of the quality of products and pricing (A7.8) shows that overall, the pricing of

most products and services were fair. Across the three quality ratings, products rated to be fairly

priced were dominant; 76% of excellent quality products, 68% of average quality products and

64% of good quality products were rated as fairly priced. In fact, products of excellent quality

were either rated as fair or expensive with none being rated affordable. As for the products,

Construction related works were reported to be expensive but of average quality. The security

services and equipment attracted a commensurate of average quality and fair pricing. Furniture

was also reported to be of good quality but expensive.

7.7.3. Adherence to delivery Times The delivery time of the frequently procured products and services by local SMEs are relatively

satisfactory as depicted on figure 7.2 below. Overall, 93% of the parastatals provided favourable

responses to the SME delivery times. It should however be noted that of the three variables

10/07/2009

(quality, pricing and delivery times); delivery time is the only one where ‘poor rating’ was

recorded. Amongst the products and services that had a poor delivery time are food stuffs,

cleaning materials and services, stationery and construction works. This should therefore be a

pointer for possible interventions areas to improve the business of SMEs providing these

products.

Figure7.2: Local SMEs Delivery Times

7.8. Parastatals Payment Times for Products and Services Payments for all parastatals are done within a month of delivery of the products and services (see

figure 7.3 below). What is even more impressive is that there is 1 parastatal (4.2%) that

reportedly does not have a payment waiting period, i.e.; paying on delivery of goods and services.

The payment times are however contrary to findings from the SME report where delayed

payments times by government and parastatals were reported as an impediment to businesses

especially for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). Notwithstanding this fact, it should be

noted that a one month payment period can still be a long time for resource constrained SMEs.

7%26%

53%

14% Poor

Average

Good

Excellent

10/07/2009

Figure 7.3: Parastatals Payment Times

7.9. Procurement Policies-Parastatals

Most of the respondents have procurement policies, guidelines or procedures to be followed in

the procurement of some or all of their supplies. Of the 24 parastatals, 17 (71%) of them

reported to be having some form of system designed specifically for regulating or guiding their

procurement while 7(29%) did not report any regulatory framework guiding their procurement.

Amongst the 17 parastatals that reported to have procurement guidelines, 3 of them have two

such procurement instruments while the other 12 had one each. It is also of interest to note that

among the guidelines used by parastatals is a Presidential Directive Cab Memo issued in 2004.

The main objective of the directive was to promote local economic empowerment by ensuring

that Government and Parastatals give preference to locally manufactured goods and services

when procuring their supplies. Two parastatals reported using the above mentioned directive.

These two are amongst the 21 (88%) parastatals that indicated that procurement from the local

SMEs was a priority in their organizations. Almost all the procurement guidelines used by the

parastatals are of recent development or revision with the oldest having been developed or

revised in 1997 and the most recent in 2008.

10/07/2009

When it comes to reservations for local SMEs amongst the parastatals that had procurement

instruments in place, no explicit provisions targeting SMEs for procurement were reported.

Forty Seven (47%) of them indicated that their procurement instruments prescribe reservations

and preferences for local companies or businesses. These provisions are inadequate since local

SMEs are likely to find themselves competing with larger local companies. Under the current

business environment, parastatals neither measure nor monitor their level of procurement from

SMEs.

A total of 7(29%) parastatals did not report any procurement guidelines in their organizations. It

would therefore be of interest to know how such organizations go about their procurement and

what guides them. Procurement in such organizations would therefore be a grey area because

policies, regulations and procedures give direction and encompass principles such as best

practices, transparency and accountability.

Also worth noting is that all the 7 parastatals that did not report any procurement instruments,

however, indicated that procurement from the local SMEs was a priority in their organizations. It

is difficult to envisage how such prioritization would be implemented without any policy,

guidelines or procedures in place that could be verified and monitored for compliance.

7.10. Potential Business deals with local SMEs

In an attempt to identify possible opportunities for SMEs, the respondents were requested to

indicate the products and services they would prefer to buy from local SMEs in the future.

Indications are that parastatals are willing to do business with local SMEs. Overall parastatals

prefer to buy (60%) of their current frequently procured products and services from local SMEs.

It is important to find out why parastatals won’t buy all products and services they require from

local SMEs where possible. One of the reasons could be unavailability of the required products

and services locally. Amongst these products, the most preferred from SMEs are stationery

which according to the survey findings is mostly purchased monthly; consultancy services,

machinery and their spares mostly purchased annually. This could be good business for SMEs

because it points to an existence of business opportunities in the parastatals procurement. That

notwithstanding, 4 parastatals were not too keen to buy anything from the local SMEs in future.

10/07/2009

Amongst these parastatals, two of them have tried to procure machinery spares and

consultancies locally in the past but failed to find a local supplier.

In order to further explore opportunities for SMEs, It was asked which products parastatals

could not find local suppliers for. Overall, (75%) of the parastatals have failed to find local

suppliers of some of their products and services requirements. Table 7.3 below shows the

products and services that parastatals tried and failed to procure from local suppliers. The most

common foreign procured products and services are machinery spares and repairs, consultancy

services and library or textbooks respectively. According to the respondents, these are the

products and services that even the local large enterprises failed to supply. It would therefore be

in order to regard such, as business opportunities that local SMEs should consider but with

caution because of the nature of these products and services.

Table 7.3: Products & Services Procured from Foreign Businesses

Products & Services Frequency PercentMachinery Spares & Repairs 5 20.8IT Equipment & Services 3 12.5Furniture 2 8.3Consultancy Services 2 8.3Stationery 1 4.2 Textbooks/Library Books 1 4.2 Electrical Materials 1 4.2 Sportswear/Equipment 1 4.2 Practical Subjects Materials 1 4.2 Steel Products 1 4.2 Agric Products 1 4.2 Specialized Scientific Equipment 1 4.2 Stationery 1 4.2 Cleaning Materials 1 4.2 Fertilizers 1 4.2 Telecom Equipment & Services 1 4.2 Total 24 100

10/07/2009

7.11. Advantages of Doing Business with Local SMEs

In order to inform LEA’s intervention, parastatals were asked to indicate the advantages of

doing business with local SMEs suppliers. The main advantages of doing business with local

SMEs are as enumerated in Table 7.4 below. According to the table, the most common stated

advantage is that they are easily accessible, capturing (42%) of the responses. The rest of the

advantages were thinly spread amongst the other 12 responses. Two parastatals were of the view

that there were no advantages of doing business with local SMEs. The other commonalities

between these two are that they have both failed to find local suppliers for their goods and

services in the past and they also both reported that lack of adherence to delivery times by local

suppliers is a challenge in their businesses. These may partly explain why they do not see any

advantages of doing business with local SMEs.

Table 7.4: Advantages of Doing Business with local SMEs

Advantages Frequency Percent

Easily accessible 18 41.9 Products and Services affordable 4 9.3 Do not have to deal with Customs & Exchange rate issues 4 9.3 Reduces Delivery Times 3 7.0 Easy Communication 3 7.0 Reduces Transport Costs 2 4.7 Prices are Negotiable 2 4.7 Quality of Products/Service is good 1 2.3 Promotes economic Growth 1 2.3 Easy to Return / reject wrongly supplied Goods 1 2.3 Allows for price Comparisons 1 2.3 Allows for after sales service 1 2.3 None/No Advantages 2 4.7 TOTAL 43 100.0

7.12. Challenges faced by Parastatals dealing with local SMEs Table 7.5, below shows a wide range of challenges that parastatals face when doing business with

the local SMEs. The most common challenge is late delivery of products and services accounting

for 30% of the responses. This finding is linked to the previous concerns where respondents had

10/07/2009

indicated that they experience poor delivery times when procuring from local SMEs. Also

considerable among the challenges were the poor quality of products (19%) and insufficient

stock/supplies (15%) respectively. However, it is worth noting that though the proportion is

low, 3.8% of the parastatals did not report any challenges when dealings with local SMEs.

Overall, the challenges faced by parastatals during procurement from SMEs points to a lack of

business professionalism among the SMEs suppliers. Some of the challenges,

such as SMEs imposing their own payment terms by either demanding advance payment or

immediate payment and lack of fixed offices may not have received higher frequencies but on

their own they are a major stumbling blocks that may discourage any organization, be it

government or private, to do business with SMEs.

Table 7.5.: Challenges faced by Parastatals with SMEs Procurement

Challenges Frequency Percent

Late Delivery 16 30.2

Poor Quality Products 10 18.9

Insufficient Stock/Supply 8 15.1

No Fixed Offices 4 7.5

Non- adherence Contracts 3 5.7

Inconsistent & Unrealistic Pricing 3 5.7

Impose their own payment terms 3 5.7

Failure to deliver 2 3.8

Poor after sales services 1 1.9

Lack of Focus on Specific Products 1 1.9

No Challenges 2 3.8

TOTALS 53 100.0

Despite the above challenges, parastatals remain committed to doing business with SMEs as they

are effectively trying to address these shortcomings (A7.9). Their responses are directly related to

the challenges above. For example, most of the time, they advise the SMEs to improve on

service delivery which is directly related to the late delivery which was also a major concern. It is

worth noting that parastatals also endeavour to educate the SMEs on their procurement

procedures so that they could manage their expectations especially those surrounding contractual

obligations and payment terms. There are instances where parastatals respond drastically to some

of the challenges such as cancelling orders from SMEs that are not compliant with their

10/07/2009

requirements and excluding such from future business dealings. These actions were reported by

at least 3 (13%) of parastatals.

7.13. Possible Improvements in the Tendering Processes Table 7.6 below shows that most parastatals are satisfied with their own current tendering

processes such that (30%) of them are not recommending any improvements. The rest of the

parastatals have varied suggestions as reflected on the table. Education of SMEs on procurement

procedures, simplifying tender documentation language and classification of indigenous

companies at tendering are some of the suggestions. A close scrutiny of some of these

suggestions indicates that some of them can be easily done without necessarily changing any of

the current procurement legislation or requirements. These include amongst others simplifying

the tender documentation and the use of Setswana language in the tender documents where

possible. It is also interesting to note that these suggestions are coming from people who are

doing business with the SMEs. These should have been informed by their interaction and

experiences during their business dealings. This should, therefore, be more informative and eye

opening for LEA since the respondents do not necessarily have direct interest in the SMEs

development when compared with LEA.

Table 7.6: Tendering Processes Improvements

Tendering Process Improvements Frequency Percent

Educate SMEs on procurement Procedures 4 17.4

Simplify Tender documents language 3 13.0

Classify Indigenous Companies at Tendering 2 8.7

Use Setswana in Tender Documents 1 4.3

SMEs to get Feedback why they lost Tenders 1 4.3

Revise tendering Requirements to suit SMEs 1 4.3

Make Businesses Compete amongst themselves

( by size) 1 4.3

Have annual Contractual Suppliers 1 4.3

Exclusion of Agents in tendering 1 4.3

Advertisement of tenders on Radio 1 4.3

No improvements recommended 7 30.4

TOTALS 23 100.0

10/07/2009

7.14. Parastatals Summary Findings

1. The most commonly procured products by parastatals are stationery, cleaning

services, foodstuffs and accommodation and conference facilities. Some

products such as agricultural products and telecommunications equipment were

reported least because they are specific to very few parastatals. Procurement for

most products and services are done on a monthly basis.

2. Products of high frequency purchase did not necessarily attract the

commensurate expenditure for the period under review. Some of the least

frequently purchased products such as construction and electrical works attracted

the highest expenditure.

3. Foreign procurement among parastatals is relatively low and limited to a few and

mostly specialized goods and services, the majority of parastatals procurement

and expenditure is from local businesses.

4. For the period under review, the total expenditure on products and services

amongst parastatals amounted to close to P1.2 billion on which almost half was

spent on SMEs. A negligible amount was spent on foreign procurement.

5. In terms of service quality, overall SMEs received positive ratings for their

products pricing, quality of products and delivery times.

6. All parastatals pay their suppliers within a month after delivery of goods and

services.

7. Most parastatals have procurement guidelines, policies or regulations developed

within the last decade. However, none of the parastatals had specific reservations

for SME procurement save for the Presidential Directive Cab memo which

prescribes reservations for local manufactured goods and services.

10/07/2009

8. The majority of parastatals prefer to buy most of their products and services

from local SMEs except for those that have failed to find local suppliers for their

specific supply needs in the past. Procurement from local suppliers is preferred

by most parastatals because they are easily accessible easier to communicate with,

and less customs and exchange rate issues.

9. Challenges faced by parastatals when doing business with local SMEs include

amongst others; lack of adherence to the agreed delivery times, SMEs demanding

advance payments even before delivering the products and/or services

(mobilization fees) and insufficient supplies.

10/07/2009

7.15. Conclusions Procurement records for the two financial years under review (2005/6 and 2006/7) shows that

parastatals spent close to P1.2 billion on procurement of products and services used in their

respective offices and areas of operations. Almost half of the expenditure was spent on

procurement from SMEs. Parastatals also have confidence in the capacity of SMEs to supply

them with most of their supplies requirements as they are generally satisfied with the quality of

supplies, pricing and delivery times. That notwithstanding, parastatals do not have any formal

and targeted reservations for SMEs in their procurement guidelines, policies or regulations. This

could be an opportunity potential if SMEs were to get preference for certain supplies where

capacity to supply has been established.

This survey also yielded a few challenges that parastatals experience when doing business with

local SMEs. A close analysis to this challenges points towards poor business practises amongst

SMEs especially relating to resource management. These issues, when addressed could improve

the market share of SMEs taking into account that parastatals are willing to procure their

supplies from them. The incentives for parastatals to buy from SMEs include their ease of

accessibility, reasonably priced goods and services and reduced delivery.

As for procurement policies, guidelines or regulations; this study did not identify any major

impediments to SMEs participation in government and parastatals procurement. However there

are suggestions that SMEs should be educated on procurement procedures and processes and

that tender documents language should be simplified to make them more understandable to

SMEs. These suggestions do not necessarily change or affect the current policy documents but

can be very beneficial to SMEs as they have potential to increase their participation in

government and parastatals procurement.

10/07/2009

8.0. Bibliography Finnigan J.T. (2008) PPADB Operations Manual: Standard Operating Policies and Procedures for Public

Procurement. Part 1

Government Paper No.1 of 1999 Policy on Small Medium and Micro Enterprises in Botswana

Local Enterprise Authority (2007) Tender Rules and Regulations

Public Procurement & Asset Disposal (2002) Chapter 42:08

Public Procurement & Asset Disposal (2006) Regulations

Public Procurement & Asset Disposal Board (2003-5) Annual Report

Public Procurement & Asset Disposal Board (2005) Code of Conduct for Contractors Registered with PPADB

Public Procurement & Asset Disposal Board (2005/6) Annual Report

Public Procurement & Asset Disposal Board (2007) Performance Audit Report

Public Procurement & Asset Disposal Board Newsletter (2004) Procurement News, 1 (1)




Small Business Act (2003) Act No.7 of 2004

University of Botswana (2004) Tender Regulations and Procurement Procedures

Water Utilities Corporation (2006) Tender Regulations and Procurement Procedures

10/07/2009

Appendix

GOVERNMENT DEPARTMENTS TABLES

A 4.1.: Essential Products and Services Purchased by Government Departments. Education Health Agriculture Local

Government

Works and

Transport

Total Percentage

Food Stuffs 111 2 11 24 3 151 52

Stationery 126 10 45 48 27 256 89

Cleaning Equipment 5 0 2 3 1 11

4

Cleaning Materials 100 9 38 38 22 208 72

Toiletry 9 1 7 2 3 22 8

Furniture 50 4 19 28 9 111 38

Vehicles Spares 1 0 0 8 9 18

6

Building Materials 8 0 9 6 16 39

13

Plumbing Materials 0 0 1 2 2 5

2

Fencing Materials 0 0 10 0 0 10 3

Protective Clothing 22 5 11 16 14 69

24

Textbooks/Library

Books 3 0 0 0 0 3 1

Catering Services 7 3 5 5 3 23

8

Conference Facilities 3 1 0 1 0 5 2

Printing Services 1 2 1 1 0 5 2 Security

Services/Equipment 3 0 0 2 0 5 2 Agricultural

Equipment 2 0 17 2 0 21 7

10/07/2009

A 4.2.: Source of Stationery by departments

Ministry


Local

Government

Works and

Transport Total

% % % % % %Stationery Local

Business 58 46% 7 70% 26 58% 27 56% 18 67% 136 53%

Foreign

Business 2 2% 0 0% 0 0% 1 2% 0 0% 3 1%

Government

Supplies

Department

16 13% 0 0% 10 22% 9 19% 2 7% 37 15%

Local

Business and

Foreign

0 0% 0 0% 0 0% 0 0% 1 4% 1 .4%

Local

Business and

Department

of Supply

50 40% 3 30% 9 20% 11 23% 6 22% 79 31%

Total 126 100% 10

100

% 45 100% 48 100% 27 100% 256 100%

A 4.3.: Perceptions about the quality of Stationery by departments

Ministry


Local

Government

Works and

Transport Total

% % % % % %

stationery Very

poor 0% 0 0% 0 0% 0 3% 1 0% 0 1% 1

Poor 0% 0 0% 0 3% 1 3% 1 4% 1 2% 3

Average 20% 21 20% 2 31% 11 11% 4 32% 8 21% 46

Good 64% 68 60% 6 60% 21 66% 25 56% 14 62% 134

Excellent 17% 18 20% 2 6% 2 18% 7 8% 2 14% 31

Total 100% 107 100% 10 100% 35 100% 38 100% 25 100% 215

10/07/2009

A 4.4.: Perceptions about the delivery times of stationery by departments

Ministry


Local

Government

Works and

Transport Total

% % % % % %

stationery Very

poor 2% 2 0% 0 3% 1 0% 0 0% 0 1% 3

Poor 14% 15 10% 1 9% 3 8% 3 16% 4 12% 26

Average 22% 23 50% 5 34% 12 32% 12 44% 11 29% 63

Good 49% 52 20% 2 40% 14 50% 19 28% 7 44% 94

Excellent 14% 15 20% 2 14% 5 11% 4 12% 3 14% 29

Total 100% 107 100% 10 100% 35 100% 38 100% 25 100% 215

A 4.5.: Purchase of cleaning materials frequency

Ministry


Local

Government

Works and

Transport Total

cleaning

materials

monthly 16 16% 1 11% 4 11% 5 13% 4 18% 30 15

quarterly 59 59% 4 44% 18 47% 17 45% 13 59% 111 54%

twice a

year 8 8% 0 0% 8 21% 7 18% 2 9% 25 12%

weekly 4 4% 0 0% 7 18% 7 18% 0 0% 18 9%

daily 1 1% 0 0% 1 3% 1 3% 1 5% 4 2%

when

needed 0 0% 0 0% 0 0% 0 0% 0 0% 0 0%

bi-monthly 12 12% 4 44% 0 0% 1 3% 0 0% 17 8%

more than

one a year 0 0% 0 0% 0 0% 0 0% 2 9% 2 1%

Total 100 100% 9 100% 38 100% 38 100% 22 100% 207 100%

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A 4.6.: Perceptions about the quality of Cleaning Materials by departments

Ministry


Local

Government

Works and

Transport Total

% % % % % %

cleaning

materials

Very

poor 4% 3 0% 0 0% 0 0% 0 0% 0 2% 3

Poor 7% 6 0% 0 4% 1 4% 1 16% 3 7% 11

Averag

e 29% 25 11% 1 18% 5 30% 8 26% 5 26% 44

Good 49% 42 67% 6 68% 19 59% 16 47% 9 54% 92

Excelle

nt 12% 10 22% 2 11% 3 7% 2 11% 2 11% 19

Total 100% 86 100% 9 100% 28 100% 27 100% 19 100% 169

A 4.7.: Perceptions about the Pricing of cleaning materials by departments

Ministry


Local

Government

Works and

Transport Total

% % % % % %

cleaning

materials

Cheap 7% 6 0% 0 7% 2 4% 1 5% 1 6% 10

Fair 49% 42 89% 8 43% 12 48% 13 47% 9 50% 84

Expensive 44% 38 11% 1 50% 14 48% 13 47% 9 44% 75

Total 100% 86 100% 9 100% 28 100% 27 100% 19 100% 169

10/07/2009

A 4.8.: Purchase of Office Furniture

Education Health Agriculture Local

Government

Works Total

quarterly 3(6%) 0(0%) 3(15%) 1(4%) 0(0%) 7(6%)

Once a

year

2(4%) 0(0%) 0(0%) 1(4%) 2(22%) 5(5%)

Twice a

year

29(58%) 2(50%) 14(70%) 16(57%) 5(56%) 66(59%)

Daily 1(2%) 0(0%) 0(0%) 0(0%) 0(0%) 1(1%)

When

need

arises

10(20%) 2(50%) 2(10%) 7(25%) 2(22%) 23(21%)

Bi-

monthly

0(0%) 0(0%) 0(0%) 1(4%) 0(0%) 1(1%)

More

than once

a year

5(10%) 0(0%) 1(5%) 2(7%) 0(0%) 8(7%)

Total 50(100%) 4(100%) 20(100%) 28(100%) 9(100%) 111(100%)

A 4.9.: Perceptions about the Pricing of office furniture by departments

Ministry


Local

Government

Works and

Transport Total

% % % % % %

furniture Cheap 13% 3 0% 0 25% 1 0% 0 0% 0 8% 4

Fair 44% 10 100% 3 25% 1 65% 11 50% 3 53% 28

Expensive 44% 10 0% 0 50% 2 35% 6 50% 3 40% 21

Total 100% 23 100% 3 100% 4 100% 17 100% 6 100% 53

10/07/2009

A 4.10.: Source of Office Furniture by departments

Ministry


Local

Government

Works and

Transport Total

% % % % % %

Furniture Local Business 28% 14 75% 3 25% 5 43% 12 67% 6 36% 40

Foreign

Business 0% 0 0% 0 0% 0 0% 0 0% 0 0% 0

Government

Supplies

Department

56% 28 25% 1 75% 15 43% 12 33% 3 53% 59

Local Business

and Foreign 0% 0 0% 0 0% 0 0% 0 0% 0 0% 0

Local Business

and

Department of

Supply

16% 8 0% 0 0% 0 14% 4 0% 0 11% 12

Total 100% 50 100% 4 100% 20 100% 28 100% 9 100% 111

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A 4.11.: Products and Services Departments would prefer to buy from Local SMEs

Products/Services Education Health Agriculture

Works and Transport Total

Food Stuffs 17 0 0 0 17 Stationery 11 0 4 1 16 Cleaning Equipment 0 0 1 0 1 Cleaning Materials 7 0 1 3 11 Furniture 1 0 2 1 4 Vehicles Spares 0 0 0 2 2 Building Materials 2 0 2 3 7 Plumbing Materials 0 0 0 1 1 Fencing Materials 0 0 1 1 2 Protective Clothing 0 0 0 0 0 Textbooks/Library Books 0 2 0 0 2 Printing Services 1 0 0 0 1 Agricultural Equipment 0 0 2 0 2 Camping Equipment 0 0 1 0 1 Transport 1 0 1 0 2 Fuels 0 0 0 1 1 Electrical Materials 1 0 1 2 4 IT Equipments 3 1 2 1 7 IT Services 0 1 0 0 1 Aircraft Servicing/Maintenance 0 0 1 1 2 Fertilizers 0 0 1 0 1 Staff Uniform 2 0 0 1 3 Destitute Rations 2 0 0 0 2 Firewood 1 0 0 0 1 Sportswear/Equipment 2 0 0 0 2 Bitumen 0 0 0 1 1 Entertainment Services 1 0 2 0 3 Stock Feeds 1 0 0 0 1 Practical Subjects Materials 2 0 1 0 3 Office Equip Repair/Services 2 0 1 0 3 Machinery Spares 1 0 2 1 4 Machinery Repairs/Services 1 0 1 2 4 Medical Equipment/Medication 2 1 0 0 3 Machinery Purchases 2 0 1 4 7 Waste Management 0 0 0 1 1 Agric Products 0 0 1 0 1 Specialized Scientific Equipment 0 0 1 0 1 Decorations 1 0 0 0 1

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Refrigeration Services 0 0 0 1 1 Kitchen Utensils 0 0 1 0 1

A 4.12.: Challenges faced by Government Departments when dealing with SMEs

Challenges Education Health Agriculture Works and Transport Total Percent

Poor Quality Products 29 0 11 14 54 11 Late Delivery 70 5 24 19 118 23 Insufficient Stock/Supply 27 0 20 12 59 12 Failure to deliver 10 0 8 5 23 5 Non Acceptance of Govt.Purchase Orders 10 0 1 0 11 2No Fixed Offices 17 3 6 6 32 6 Incon sistent/Unrealistic Pricing 35 0 14 12 61 12 Supply of wrong Products 6 0 2 6 14 3 Offering of bribes by suppliers 2 0 0 0 2 0.4 Lack Trading Documents 16 1 5 3 25 5Lack of focus on specific products 2 0 1 2 5 1 Lack of proper books of accounts 1 0 1 0 2 0.4 SMEs demanding payment upon delivery 7 0 3 1 11 2 Fronting 2 0 0 0 2 0.4 Lack of Capacity 13 4 14 4 35 7Shortage of Suppliers in the locality 0 0 1 0 1 0.2SMEs Demand advance payment 1 0 0 0 1 0.2 Non adherence Contracts 10 3 4 2 19 4 Poor Customer Service/Relations 20 3 11 3 37 7 Total 512

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A 4.13.: Possible Improvements in the Tendering Processes by the Government Departments

Possible Improvements Ed

uca

tion

Hea

lth

Agr

icu

ltur

e

Wor

ks a

nd

T

ran

spor

t

Tot

al

Per

cen

t

Educate SMEs on procurement procedures 24 2 9 5 40 14Procure from Companies/business of equal standing(size) 9 6 5 3 23 8Reduce contract duration to one year 3 0 3 0 6 2 Consider regionalizing some tenders 2 0 0 0 2 0.7Tenders of low value be paid in cash 1 0 0 0 1 0.3Revise tendering Requirements to suit SMEs 13 1 5 3 22 7 SMEs should be discouraged from Inflating prices 10 0 0 1 11 4 Big tenders be broken into small portions 0 0 2 0 2 0.7Partnerships with other SMEs 2 0 0 0 2 0.7Decentralize tenders from Head Offices 1 0 0 2 3 1 Reduce quotations from 5 to 3 in remote areas 5 0 4 1 10 3 Use Setswana in tender Documents 1 0 0 0 1 0.3Simplify tender documents language 6 0 2 0 8 3 SMEs should advertise their services 6 0 2 1 9 3 SMEs should be given Feedback why they failed to win tenders 0 0 0 1 1 0.3Other factors should be considered when awarding tenders besides price 3 0 1 2 6 2 Reserve a portion of tenders for SMEs 6 0 6 4 16 5Specialization on Supply of products/services 7 0 1 1 9 3 Stock should be available 2 0 1 1 4 1 No improvements recommended 48 2 23 12 85 29Business Management skills 11 4 2 3 20 7 Exclusion of foreign company representatives in tendering 1 0 0 0 1 0.3SMEs must be funded 7 2 3 0 12 4 SMEs should form Associations 0 0 1 0 1 0.3Total 295 100

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A 4.14.: Advantages of doing business with SMEs

Advantages Frequency Percentages

Easily accessible 119 41

Reduces delivery times 82 28

Promote economic growth 72 25

Reduces transport costs 49 17

Easy communication 36 13

Products and services cheaper 40 14

Easy to return/reject wrongly supplied goods 20 7

Allows inspection of samples 17 6

Quality of goods/service is good 13 6

None/no advantages 18 6

No Customs & Exchange rate issues 9 3

Allows for price comparisons 10 3

Prices are negotiable 8 3

Allows for after sales service 5 2

TOTAL 288

A 4.15.: Terms and Conditions imposed on Suppliers

Terms and Conditions imposed Frequency Percentage

Specified delivery Times 15 5

Require Tax Clearance, VAT & Trading Licenses 16 6

Advance mobilization fees to some suppliers 3 1

Large Enterprises to Sub contract minor work to SMEs 3 1

Suppliers provide guaranties on goods/services 2 .7

Bring samples at tender/quotation stage 6 2

Big Companies to provide proof of past experience 1 .4

None/Nothing 222 78

Reservations of tenders for SMEs 7 3

TOTAL 284

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A 4.16.: Preferred Products and Services from Local SMEs

Preferred Products/services from SMEs Education Health Agriculture

Works and

Transport TotalFood Stuffs 6 3 4 0 13 Stationery 7 1 5 3 16 Cleaning Equipment 2 0 1 0 3 Cleaning Materials 9 0 4 2 15 Toiletry 0 0 1 0 1Furniture 5 0 3 0 8 Vehicles Spares 0 0 0 1 1 Building Materials & Construction works 2 0 2 0 4 Fencing Materials 1 0 1 0 2Clothing & footwear 4 2 6 2 14 Conference Facilities, Accommodation & catering 4 3 2 1 10 Printing Services 1 0 0 0 1 Security Services/Equipment 1 0 0 0 1Agricultural Equipment & Products 2 0 1 0 3 Camping Equipment 0 0 0 1 1 Electrical Materials 1 0 0 0 1 IT Equipments 1 1 1 0 3 Vehicle Purchases 1 0 0 0 1 Firewood 1 0 0 0 1 Office Equip Repair/Services 2 0 1 1 4Gardening/Landscaping Services 0 0 1 1 2 Machinery Repairs/Services 1 0 0 0 1 Cleaning Services 0 0 0 1 1 Decorations 2 0 1 0 3Storage Services/Facilities 1 0 0 0 1 Educational Facilities 1 0 0 0 1

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LOCAL GOVERNMENT TABLES

A5.1: Frequency of buying essential products/services

Product/Service Monthly QuarterlyTwice a

year Once a

year Weekly DailyWhen

Needed Bi

Monthly

More than once a year

Food stuffs 5 8 4 2 2 2 1 0 0

Stationery 11 17 7 7 1 0 5 0 0

Cleaning Equipment 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0

Cleaning Materials 5 17 7 7 1 0 1 0 0

Toiletry 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Furniture 0 1 1 16 0 0 7 1 2

Vehicle spares 3 1 0 0 1 1 2 0 0

Building Materials 3 1 0 0 1 0 1 0 0

Plumbing Materials 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0

Protective Clothing 2 0 0 14 0 0 0 0 0

Catering Services 1 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 0

Conference facilities 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Printing services 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Security services/equipment 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Agricultural Equipment 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0

Camping equipment 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0

Transport 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0

Fuels 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0

Lubricants 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Electrical Materials 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0

IT equipment 0 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0

Vehicle purchases 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0

Staff uniform 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 0 0

Destitute rations 1 1 0 2 0 0 0 0 0

Construction works 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Office equipment/repairs/service 0 0 1 3 0 0 0 0 0

Machinery spares 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0

Machinery repairs/service 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0

Consultancy service 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Cleaning service 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0

Waste management 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Accommodation 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Office equipment/machinery 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 0 0

10/07/2009

Decorations 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 Educational services/training 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

A5.2: Sources of supply per essential product/service

Product/Service Local

Business Foreign Business

Supplies department

Local Business

and foreignLocal Business and Supplies department

Food stuffs 24 0 0 0 0 Stationery 27 0 9 0 11 Cleaning Equipment 1 0 2 0 0 Cleaning Materials 18 0 11 1 8 Toiletry 1 0 1 0 0 Furniture 12 0 12 0 4 Vehicle spares 7 0 0 1 0 Building Materials 6 0 0 0 0 Plumbing Materials 2 0 0 0 0 Protective Clothing 3 0 10 0 3 Catering Services 5 0 0 0 0 Conference facilities 1 0 0 0 0 Printing services 1 0 0 0 0 Security services/equipment 2 0 0 0 0 Agricultural Equipment 2 0 0 0 0 Camping equipment 0 0 2 0 0 Transport 1 0 0 0 0 Fuels 2 0 0 0 0 Lubricants 2 0 0 0 0 Electrical Materials 1 0 0 0 0 IT equipment 2 0 1 0 0 Vehicle purchases 1 0 0 0 0 Staff uniform 1 0 3 0 0 Destitute rations 2 0 1 0 1 Construction works 1 0 0 0 0 Office repairs and service 1 0 3 0 0 Machinery spares 1 0 0 0 0 Machinery repairs/service 2 0 0 0 0 Consultancy service 1 0 0 0 0 Cleaning service 0 0 0 0 1 Waste management 1 0 0 0 0 Accommodation 1 0 0 0 0 Office equipment/machinery 2 0 0 0 1 Decorations 0 0 1 0 0

10/07/2009

Educational services/training 2 0 0 0 0

A5.3: Rating of SMEs product

quality

Product/Service Unacceptable Percentages Acceptable Percentages

Food stuffs 0 0 24 44

Stationery 2 4 36 67

Cleaning Equipment 0 0 1 2

Cleaning Materials 1 2 26 48

Toiletry 0 0 1 2

Furniture 3 6 14 26

Vehicle spares 0 0 8 15

Building Materials 1 2 5 9

Plumbing Materials 0 0 2 4

Protective Clothing 1 2 6 11

Catering Services 0 0 5 9

Conference facilities 0 0 1 2

Printing services 0 0 1 2

Security services/equipment 0 0 2 4

Agricultural Equipment 1 2 1 2

Camping equipment 1 2 1 2

Transport 0 0 1 2

Fuels 0 0 2 4

Lubricants 0 0 2 4

Electrical Materials 0 0 1 2

IT equipment 0 0 2 4

Vehicle purchases 0 0 1 2

Staff uniform 0 0 1 2

Destitute rations 0 0 3 6

Construction works 0 0 1 2 Office equipment/repairs/service 0 0 1 2

Machinery spares 0 0 1 2

Machinery repairs/service 0 0 2 4

Consultancy service 0 0 1 2

Cleaning service 0 0 1 2

Waste management 0 0 1 2

Accommodation 0 0 1 2

Office equipment/machinery 1 2 2 4

Decorations 0 0 1 2 Educational services/training 0 0 2 4

10/07/2009

A5.4: Pricing of products/services by source of procurement

Product/Service Cheap Fair Expensive

Food stuffs 2 11 11 Stationery 1 18 19 Cleaning Equipment 0 0 1 Cleaning Materials 1 13 13 Toiletry 0 1 0 Furniture 0 11 6 Vehicle spares 0 1 7 Building Materials 0 4 2 Plumbing Materials 0 2 0 Protective Clothing 2 4 1 Catering Services 0 4 1 Conference facilities 0 1 0 Printing services 0 1 0 Security services/equipment 0 2 0 Agricultural Equipment 1 1 0 Camping equipment 1 1 0 Transport 0 1 0 Fuels 0 0 2 Lubricants 0 1 1 Electrical Materials 0 1 0 IT equipment 0 0 2 Vehicle purchases 0 0 1 Staff uniform 1 0 0 Destitute rations 0 2 1 Construction works 0 1 0 Office equipment/repairs/service 0 0 1 Machinery spares 0 0 1 Machinery repairs/service 0 1 1 Consultancy service 0 1 0 Cleaning service 0 1 0 Waste management 0 0 1 Accommodation 0 1 1 Office equipment/machinery 0 1 2 Decorations 0 1 0 Educational services/training 0 1 1

10/07/2009

A5.5: Local SMEs Delivery Times

Product/Service Unsatisfactory Percentages satisfactory Percentages

Food stuffs 2 4 22 41


Cleaning Equipment 0 0 1 2


Toiletry 0 0 1 2

Furniture 0 0 17 31

Vehicle spares 1 2 7 13


Plumbing Materials 0 0 2 4

Protective Clothing 1 2 6 11

Catering Services 0 0 5 9

Conference facilities 0 0 1 2

Security services/equipment 0 0 2 4

Agricultural Equipment 0 0 2 4

Transport 0 0 1 2

Fuels 1 2 1 2

Lubricants 0 0 2 4


IT equipment 0 0 2 4

Vehicle purchases 0 0 1 2

Staff uniform 0 0 1 2

Destitute rations 0 0 3 6

Construction works 0 0 1 2 Office equipment/repairs/service 0 0 1 2

Machinery spares 0 0 1 2

Machinery repairs/service 0 0 2 4

Consultancy service 0 0 1 2

Cleaning service 0 0 1 2

Waste management 0 0 1 2

Accommodation 0 0 1 2

Office equipment/machinery 1 2 2 4

Decorations 1 2 0 0

Educational services/training 0 0 2 4

10/07/2009

A5.6: Priority for procurement from SMEs

Number of respondents

Percent

Yes 37 69

No 15 28

Don’t Know 2 4

A5.7: Products/Services preferred from local SMEs

Products Number of respondents Percent

Catering services and food stuffs 11 20

Stationery and printing services 17 31

Cleaning services, equipments, and toiletry 26 48

Furniture, Office equipment and repairs 10 19

Vehicle purchases and repairs 2 4

Building and fencing materials, and construction works 1 2

Staff uniform and protective clothing 10 19

Conference facilities and entertainment services 2 4

Security services and equipment 2 4

Agricultural equipment 1 2

Gardening and landscaping services 1 2

Nothing 13 24

Electrical materials 2 4

IT equipments, Machinery purchases, repairs and spares 3 6

Destitute rations 5 9

Waste Management 1 2

Decorations and painting materials 2 4

Consultancy and educational services/training 2 4 A5.8: Products/services that could not be sourced locally

Number of respondents

Percent

Yes 43 80

No 11 20

10/07/2009

A5.9: Products & Services Procured from Foreign businesses

Products/Services Number of respondents

Percent

Food Stuffs 2 4

Stationery 6 11

Cleaning Materials 3 6

Building Materials 1 2

Protective Clothing 2 4

IT Equipments 1 2

Machinery Spares 1 2

Consultancy Services 1 2

Mechanical Tools 1 2

A5.10: Advantages of Doing Business with local SMEs

Advantages Number of respondents Percent

They are easily accessible 24 44 Reduces Transport Costs 8 15 Easy Communication 4 7 Reduces Delivery Times 11 20 Do not have to deal with Customs & Exchange rate issues 2 4 They are Cheap 7 13 Allows inspection of Samples 2 4 Easy to Return/reject wrongly supplied Goods 5 9 Allows for price Comparisons 4 7 Promote economic Growth 19 35 Prices are Negotiable 2 4 Quality of goods/Service is good 2 4 None/No Advantages 4 7

10/07/2009

A5.11: Challenges faced with SMEs Procurement

Challenges Number of respondents

Percent

Poor Quality Products 10 19

Late Delivery 26 48

Insufficient Stock/Supply 22 41

Failure to deliver 5 9

Non Acceptance of GPOs 1 2

No Fixed Offices 6 11

Inconsistent/Unrealistic Pricing 5 9

Supply of wrong Products 2 4

Offering of bribes by supplies 1 2

They are Expensive 4 7

They Lack Trading Documents 4 7

Lack of Focus on Specific Products 1 2

They demand payment on the spot 2 4

Lack of Capacity 7 13

SMEs Demand advance payment before delivery 2 4

Non adherence Contracts 3 6

No Challenges 5 9

Poor Customer Service/Relations 4 7

A5.12: Addressing challenges faced when purchasing from SMEs

Remedies Number of respondents

Percent

Counsel them to improve Service delivery 20 37

Educate them on govt procurement procedures 2 4

Exclude those who do not accept GPOs 1 2

Rotate suppliers 1 2

Reject poor quality products 1 2

Exclude those who failed to supply 6 11

Cancel orders 6 11

Use own transport to collect goods 5 9

Ask for samples when companies quote/tender 1 2

Encourage them to have offices 1 2

Encourage them to have business/company accounts 1 2

Return wrongly supplied goods 1 2

10/07/2009

Encourage business to employ adequate & skilled personnel 1 2

Give them money in advance 1 2

Give them more time extensions 6 11

Not addressing the challenges 6 11 A5.13: Tendering Processes Improvements

Tendering Process Improvements Frequency Percent

Educate SMEs on procurement Procedures 14 26 Procure from Companies/business of equal standing(Size) 8 15 Revise tendering Requirements to suit SMEs 3 6 SMEs be discouraged from overcharging/Inflating prices 3 6 Price should not be the only factor in awarding tenders 2 4 Reserve a portion of tenders for SMEs 3 6

Figure 5.2: Procurement Policies

10/07/2009

COUNCILS TABLES

A6.1: Enumerated Councils Council FrequencyCentral Bobirwa Sub 1 Central Mahalapye Sub 1 Central Serowe/Palapye 1 Central Tutume sub 1 Gabs City Council 1 Gaborone City Council Fire Services Unit 1 Ghanzi District Council 1 Jwaneng Town Council 1 Okavango Sub District 1 South East District Council 1 Southern District Council 1 Selibe Phikwe Town Council 1North West District 1 Kweneng District Council 1 Total 14

A6.2: Challenges for Councils Preferring to buy from SMEs Challenges Frequency Percent

Late Delivery 3 37.5 Poor Quality Products 3 37.5 Failure to deliver 2 25 Insufficient Stock/Supply 1 12.5 Lack of Capacity 1 12.5 Inconsistent/Unrealistic Pricing 1 12.5 SMEs Demand advance payment before delivery 1 12.5 They Lack Trading Documents 1 12.5 Non adherence Contracts 1 12.5 No Challenges 1 12.5 *N=8 ** Percentages are horizontal

10/07/2009

A6.3: How Councils who Prefer local SMEs Procurement address Challenges Interventions Addressing Challenges Frequency Percent We advise them to improve on Service delivery 4 50 We cancel orders 2 25 We exclude those who failed to supply in the past 1 12.5 We give them money in advance ( mobilization fees) 1 12.5 Total 8 100 A6:4 Suggested Tendering Processes Improvements Suggested Improvements Frequency Percent Educate SMEs on procurement Procedures 4 40 Educate SMEs on business Management 3 30 Companies of the same size compete among themselves 2 20 Reserve a portion of tenders for SMEs 1 10 All institutions should have a PPADB committe member 1 10 SMEs pecialize on what they can Supply 1 10 Price should not be the only factor in awarding tenders 1 10 SMEs must be Funded 1 10 *N=10 ** Percentages are horizontal *** Multiple Responses

10/07/2009

A6.5 Furniture frequency of purchase and Rating

10/07/2009

A6.6 Vehicle Spares frequency of Purchase and Rating

10/07/2009

A6.7 Building Materials frequency of purchase and rating

A6.8 Percentage change of total expenditure between the two financial years

product group % of Expend 05/06

% of Expend 06/07 change

Food Stuffs 29 23 -6 Training Services 3 1 -3 Clothing and Protective Clothing 6 4 -3 Security Services/Equipment 3 1 -2Bush Clearing, Road Maintenance and Equipments 2 -2 Water utilities and services 7 7 -1 Electrical Works 1 1 -1 Cleaning Materials and Chemicals 1 1 -1Medication, Health Equipments and Services 2 1 0 Electrical Materials and Appliances 1 1 0 Telecoms Equipment & Services 1 1 0 IT Equipments & Services 1 1 0Machinery Spares & Repairs/Services 1 1 0 Cleaning services 1 1 0

10/07/2009

Product Unknown 1 1 0 Furniture 1 1 0 Building Materials 7 8 0 Domestic Consumables and Services 3 4 1Vehicle Services , Repairs &Parts 9 10 1 Construction Works 1 3 2 Fuels & Lubricants 11 14 3 Accommodation, Catering &Conference facilities 1 5 4Stationery 4 8 4

A6.9 Actual change of total expenditure between the two financial years (Pula)

10/07/2009

A 6.10 Expenditure by company size/government. Financial Year 2005/06 2006/07 SME 92,843,092.45 90,660,622.72Large 34,673,319.89 44,011,452.14 Government 7,997,242.66 6,590,360.60 Parastatal 2,068,159.83 1,465,948.96 NGO 24,371.45 46,262.00Total 137,606,186.28 142,774,646.42

A 6.11 Top Expenditure Items Product group 2005/06 2006/07

Food Stuffs 39,569,843.4 33,114,709.8 Fuels & Lubricants 15,309,178.1 19,953,315.3 Vehicle Services , Repairs &Parts 12,191,030.2 14,324,157.1 Water utilities and services 10,313,945.3 9,732,704.6 Building Materials 10,109,095.0 11,169,384.4 Clothing and Protective Clothing 8,863,972.5 5,194,373.3 Stationery 5,687,210.5 12,012,189.5 Training Services 4,690,992.9 806,435.7 Security Services/Equipment 4,264,785.7 1,836,990.1 Domestic Consumables and Services 3,636,498.8 5,040,195.9 Medication, Health Equipments and Services 2,236,549.2 1,844,667.1 Bush Clearing, Road Maintenance and Equipments 2,150,393.5 0 Electrical Works 2,021,275.8 1,288,686.2 Construction Works 1,922,473.4 4,280,565.9 Cleaning Materials and Chemicals 1,861,833.5 1,178,195.7 Accommodation, Catering &Conference facilities 1,707,717.2 7,120,200.5 Electrical Materials and Appliances 1,383,388.3 1,357,301.1 IT Equipments & Services 1,277,805.4 1,436,756.8 Product Unknown 1,129,977.8 1,508,083.4 Telecom Equipment & Services 1,006,006.2 980,742.6 Machinery Spares & Repairs/Services 983,254.2 1,189,866.4 Furniture 908,084.3 1,300,761.8 Cleaning services 797,331.0 1,049,446.5

10/07/2009

A6.12 Councils expenditures by products 2005/06 Product group Total %

Food Stuffs 39,569,843.39 29 Fuels & Lubricants 15,309,178.12 11 Vehicle Services , Repairs &Parts 12,191,030.24 9 Water utilities and services 10,313,945.26 7 Building Materials 10,109,094.97 7 Clothing and Protective Clothing 8,863,972.48 6 Stationery 5,687,210.46 4 Training Services 4,690,992.87 3 Security Services/Equipment 4,264,785.69 3 Domestic Consumables and Services 3,636,498.83 3 Medication, Health Equipments and Services 2,236,549.17 2 Bush Clearing, Road Maintenance and Equipments 2,150,393.52 2 Electrical Works 2,021,275.79 1 Construction Works 1,922,473.36 1 Cleaning Materials and Chemicals 1,861,833.53 1 Accommodation, Catering &Conference facilities 1707717.22 1 Electrical Materials and Appliances 1,383,388.30 1 IT Equipments & Services 1,277,805.40 1 Product Unknown 1,129,977.75 1 Telecom Equipment & Services 1,006,006.18 1 Machinery Spares & Repairs/Services 983,254.15 1 Furniture 908,084.25 1 Cleaning services 797,330.98 1 Livestock 438,600.00 0 Gardening/Landscaping Services and tools 415,430.50 0 Funeral Services 364,710.90 0 Transport Services 343,282.68 0 Office Equipment/machinery and Services 341,094.79 0 Agricultural Products 246,023.19 0 Product Not Stated 183,049.17 0 Hiring Services 175,096.24 0 Printing Services 149,502.09 0 Consultancy and Testing Services 133,221.61 0 Signage 101,472.90 0 practical subjects equipment, materials and Educational Services 98,130.75 0 Camping Equipment 95,611.44 0 Sportswear/Equipment 91,863.01 0 Multimedia equipment 73,553.70 0 Refrigeration and Air conditioning 63,290.56 0 Subscription Fees 59,291.50 0

10/07/2009

Postal and Courier Services 46,225.60 0 Fire Fighting Equipments 45,833.64 0 Others 38,471.22 0 Legal Services 27,136.87 0 Advertising Services 25,502.00 0 Welding Materials, Equipments and Services 17,545.01 0 Botswana Flag 5,797.50 0 Decoration materials and services 3,807.50 0 Total 137,606,186.28 100.0

A6.13 Councils expenditures by products 2006/07 Product group Total % Food Stuffs 33,114,709.80 23 Fuels & Lubricants 19,953,315.31 14 Vehicle Services , Repairs &Parts 14,324,157.11 10 Stationery 12,012,189.47 8 Building Materials 11,169,384.42 8 Water utilities and services 9,732,704.56 7 Accommodation, Catering &Conference facilities 7,120,200.46 5 Clothing and Protective Clothing 5,194,373.34 4 Domestic Consumables and Services 5,040,195.90 4 Construction Works 4,280,565.87 3 Medication, Health Equipments and Services 1,844,667.11 1 Security Services/Equipment 1,836,990.13 1 Product Unknown 1,508,083.42 1 IT Equipments & Services 1,436,756.83 1 Electrical Materials and Appliances 1,357,301.08 1 Furniture 1,300,761.78 1 Electrical Works 1,288,686.21 1 Machinery Spares & Repairs/Services 1,189,866.35 1 Cleaning Materials and Chemicals 1,178,195.67 1 Cleaning services 1,049,446.46 1 Telecom Equipment & Services 980,742.58 1 Transport Services 806,435.68 1 Bush Clearing, Road Maintenance and Equipments 710,383.54 0 Office Equipment/machinery and Services 598,309.62 0 Funeral Services 562,813.06 0 Hiring Services 454,407.29 0 Gardening/Landscaping Services and tools 323,354.82 0 Printing Services 315,866.55 0 Advertising Services 272,214.98 0 Agricultural Products 268,562.86 0 Multimedia equipment 238,688.38 0 practical subjects equipment, materials and Educational Services 216,452.77 0 Postal and Courier Services 198,853.77 0

10/07/2009

Refrigeration and Air conditioning 150,953.03 0 Livestock 150,948.40 0 Training Services 147,374.10 0 Product Not Stated 91,713.12 0 Legal Services 71,782.12 0 Sportswear/Equipment 63,096.30 0 Consultancy and Testing Services 44,995.13 0 Signage 39,431.80 0 Camping Equipment 37,406.13 0 Subscription Fees 34,176.84 0 Fire Fighting Equipments 31,992.15 0 Others 15,525.12 0 Welding Materials, Equipments and Services 11,215.00 0 Botswana Flag 3,620.20 0 Decoration materials and services 779.80 0 Total 142,774,646.42 100.0

10/07/2009

2005/6 and 2006/7 Expenditures for Ministries

A6.14. MINISTRY OF EDUCATION Expenditures PRODUCT/SERVICE 2005/06 2006/07 TOTAL

Product Not Stated 5,378,782.88 108,735,610.4 114,114,393.3 Food Stuffs 47,641,423.74 59,986,612.05 107,628,035.8 Stationery 37,704,401.93 29,567,286.64 67,271,688.57 Accommodation, Catering &Conference facilities 4,376,546.78 6,741,934.04 11,118,480.82 Training Services 2,654,118.83 7,673,473.81 10,327,592.64 Furniture 1,439,388.33 7,227,343.7 8,666,732.03 practical subjects equipment, materials and Educational Services 4,118,020.42 4,454,928.915 8,572,949.335 Domestic Consumables and Services 3,724,538.96 3,928,272.91 7,652,811.87 Telecommunication Equipment & Services 423,545.25 6,905,357.67 7,328,902.92 IT Equipments & Services 2,689,430.78 4,534,709.62 7,224,140.4 Electrical Materials and Appliances 487,5597.68 1,790,863.32 6,666,461 Building Materials 3,684,042 2,813,447.945 6,497,489.945 Cleaning Materials and Chemicals 3,343,066.26 3,119,949 6,463,015.26 Water utilities and services 1,695,894.92 3,250,225.46 4,946,120.38 Clothing and Protective Clothing 2,223,914.25 2,213,431.03 4,437,345.28 Medication, Health Equipments and Services 2,383,393.67 769,587.33 3,152,981 Sportswear/Equipment 1,531,003.91 1,414,231.09 2,945,235 Electrical Works 1,135,625.44 1,708,962.06 2,844,587.5 Consultancy and Testing Services 255,019.95 2,565,782.48 2,820,802.43 Agricultural Products 1,269,017.77 1,305,087.18 2,574,104.95 Security services /equipment 1,268,915.66 1,224,897.19 2,493,812.85 Office Equipment/machinery and Services 1,096,025.51 1,347,411.54 2,443,437.05 Machinery Spares & Repairs/Services 804,612.27 1,621,121.31 2,425,733.58 Transport Services 1,098,143.74 983,527.01 2,081,670.75 Investments 3,936 2,000,000 2,003,936 Product Unknown 1,341,022.27 649,746.13 1,990,768.4 Vehicle Services , Repairs &Parts 652,694.5 1,032,849.4 1,685,543.9 Fuels & Lubricants 729,929.66 851,682.42 1,581,612.08 Construction Works 581,863.91 968,457.02 1,550,320.93 Cleaning services 403,633.93 855,343.2 1,258,977.13 Multimedia equipment 413,316.93 379,709.79 793,026.72 Fire Fighting Equipments 340,719.23 404,288.49 745,007.72 Printing Services 287,510.79 405,614.26 693,125.05 Subscription Fees 289,346.9 278,694.23 568,041.13 Advertising Services 226,122.35 255,882.59 482,004.94

10/07/2009

Others 190,823.13 290,930.95 481,754.08 Refrigeration and Air conditioning 162,883.45 233,460.92 396,344.37 Hiring Services 201,329.37 121,941.13 323,270.5 Gardening/Landscaping Services and tools 186,898.7 114,961.6 301,860.3 Decoration materials and services 26,550.45 141,496.05 168,046.5 Postal and Courier Services 24,946.45 80,041.57 104,988.02 Camping Equipment 27,949.65 73,892.9 101,842.55 Welding Materials, Equipments and Services 38,426.55 62,855.34 101,281.89 Bush Clearing, Road Maintenance and Equipments 18,862.7 32,307.77 51,170.47 Signage 15,868.84 33,420.6 49,289.44 Botswana Flag 12,240.25 30,730.99 42,971.24 Legal Services . 3,0675.5 30,675.5 Livestock 5,506.95 5,250 10,756.95 Funeral Services . 8,245.4 8,245.4

10/07/2009

A.6.15. MINISTRY OF HEALTH Expenditure

Products and services 2005/06 2006/07 Total

Medication, health equipments and services 65,385,533.58 125,141,256.2 190,526,789.8 Food stuffs 30,465,892.18 43,852,152.62 74,318,044.8 Cleaning materials and chemicals 494,974.89 17,762,120.48 18,257,095.37 Domestic consumables and services 469,161.71 11,219,732.06 11,688,893.77 Product unknown 5,730,150.62 5,399,388.38 11,129,539 Accommodation, catering & conference facilities 3,768,000.77 6,182,237.43 9,950,238.2 Consultancy & testing services 1,022,095.79 6,899,672.03 7,921,767.82 Printing services 1,622,194.77 5,511,020.04 7,133,214.81 Office equipment/machinery and services 1,396,565.42 4,883,705.3 6,280,270.72 Others 1,325,696.22 3,745,616.14 5,071,312.36 Stationery 976,817.3 2,807,007.68 3,783,824.98 IT equipments & services 2,191,762.86 1,169,445.86 3,361,208.72 Furniture 2,955,959.21 332,101.35 3,288,060.56 Clothing and protective clothing 92,057.17 2,901,131.06 2,993,188.23 Multimedia equipment 684,490.44 2,264,918.7 2,949,409.14 Advertising services 1,172,087.16 1,708,754.84 2,880,842 Telecom equipment & services 389,279.8 1,869,720.37 2,259,000.17 Cleaning materials 0 1,959,862.4 1,959,862.4 Training services 151,801.95 1,705,545.4 1,857,347.35 Refrigeration and air-conditioning 618,571.6 279,551.12 898,122.72 Hiring services 280,010.11 408,715.2 688,725.31 Postal & courier services 10,409.76 165,754.64 176,164.4 Decoration materials and services 5,649.55 118,828.9 124,478.45 Security services/equipment 26,312 78,222.1 104,534.1 Subscription fees 23,430 60,591.92 84,021.92 Signage 55,923 0 55,923 Toiletry 1,623.75 52,454.62 54,078.37 Building materials 18,338.04 34,243 52,581.04 Fuels & lubricants 635.69 47,390.2 48,025.89 Transport services 2,224.15 11,083.1 13,307.25 Construction works 11,178 1,325.22 12,503.22 Sportswear/equipment . 7,831.25 7,831.25 Electrical materials and appliances 446 6,676.06 7,122.06 Gardening/landscaping services and tools 5,703.14 87.35 5,790.49 Fire fighting equipments 0 3,075 3,075 Machinery spares & repairs 0 2,860 2,860 Vehicle services, repairs & parts 89.55 1,172.31 1,261.86 Agricultural products 0 1,094.75 1,094.75 Botswana Flag 0 336.5 336.5

10/07/2009

Water utilities and services 0 74 74

A6.16. MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE Expenditure

PRODUCT/SERVICE 2005/06 2006/07 TOTAL

Agricultural Products 9,515,790.38 35,038,787.15 44,554,577.53

IT Equipments & Services 183,922.64 13,279,351.54 13,463,274.18

Building Materials 4,110,346.99 6,163,543.8 10,273,890.79

Product Not Stated 4,307,241.31 5,616,751.02 9,923,992.33

Fuels & Lubricants 2,472,968.3 5,054,808.07 7,527,776.37

Stationery 2,034,362.65 3,592,640.48 5,627,003.13

Construction Works 243,321.72 2,351,925.06 2,595,246.78

Product Unknown 1,315,979.21 802,694.22 2,118,673.43

Food Stuffs 1,468,387.5 541,171.17 2,009,558.67

Clothing and Protective Clothing 1,452,884.94 482,403.31 1,935,288.25

Vehicle Services , Repairs &Parts 883,698.79 877,318.068 1,761,016.858

Cleaning Materials and Chemicals 757,316.77 784,407.77 1,541,724.54

Accommodation, Catering &Conference facilities 513,719.16 997,653.41 1,511,372.57

Telecommunication Equipment & Services 1,495,061.3 7,700 1,502,761.3

Medication, Health Equipments and Services 365,962.25 1,090,934.2 1,456,896.45

Furniture 470,841.82 564,775.8 1,035,617.62

Training Services 367,110.9 374,145.15 741,256.05

Domestic Consumables and Services 200,365.65 470,037.3 670,402.95

Machinery Spares & Repairs/Services 282,024.9 335,984.71 618,009.61

Electrical Materials and Appliances 309,380 295,888.45 605,268.45

Water utilities and services 198,117.58 378,573.97 576,691.55

Consultancy and Testing Services 440,756.11 107,331.24 548,087.35

Camping Equipment 200,560.15 306,445.34 507,005.49

Gardening/Landscaping Services and tools 360,656.38 36,907.83 397,564.21

Office Equipment/machinery and Services 111,250.53 216,342.04 327,592.57

Multimedia equipment 221,208.26 86,291.7 307,499.96

Advertising Services 28,403.86 262,800.68 291,204.54

Printing Services 148,525.25 139,166.93 287,692.18 practical subjects equipment, materials and Educational Services 158,625.65 23,288.58 181,914.23

Transport Services 83,221.39 41,843.81 125,065.2

Refrigeration and Air conditioning 23,000 93,570.85 116,570.85

Security Services/Equipment 19,875.2 81,968.89 101,844.09

Sportswear/Equipment 14,097.5 57,338.04 71,435.54

Others 29,613.58 34,614.22 64,227.8

Signage 44,962.8 10,889.2 55,852

Cleaning services 7,811.5 31,823 39,634.5

Subscription Fees 787.5 33,610.25 34,397.75

Electrical Works 8,366.05 17,762.35 26,128.4

Livestock 12,990 1,650 14,640

Botswana Flag 12,435.64 1,788.2 14,223.84

Hiring Services 5,550 8,198 13,748

10/07/2009

Fire Fighting Equipments 1,527 9,995.4 11,522.4

Postal and Courier Services 5,229.75 1,955.8 7,185.55

Decoration materials and services 635 5,221.65 5,856.65

Funeral Services 291.5 2,674.5 2,966

Welding Materials, Equipments and Services 1,880 717 2,597

10/07/2009

A6.17. MINISTRY OF LOCAL GOVERNMENTExpenditure PRODUCT/SERVICE 2005/06 2006/07 TOTAL

Construction Works 43,844,0625.6 1,216,355,809 1,654,796,435 Food Stuffs 216,420,032.4 34,179,542.08 250,599,574.5 Consultancy and Testing Services 21,901,636.02 71,095,724.21 92,997,360.23 Stationery 67,285,427.86 14,804,227.81 82,089,655.67 Water utilities and services 10,298,690.31 17,822,106.98 28,120,797.29 Fuels & Lubricants 12,871,779.19 14,913,541.21 27,785,320.4 IT Equipments & Services 4,163,196.41 22,750,175.4 26,913,371.81 Electrical Materials and Appliances 1,242,424.5 24,520,304.65 25,762,729.15 Vehicle Services , Repairs &Parts 11,700,871.34 13,822,403.9 25,523,275.24 Product Not Stated 310,456.01 22,021,055.05 22,331,511.06 Building Materials 7,151,855.02 8,445,594.21 15,597,449.23 Accommodation, Catering &Conference facilities 3,753,725.2 11,418,120.66 15,171,845.86 Clothing and Protective Clothing 8,793,533.08 5,642,739.93 14,436,273.01 Training Services 8,714,087.57 3,839,388.27 12,553,475.84 Product Unknown 1,063,375.37 8,685,302.09 9,748,677.46 Medication, Health Equipments and Services 7,607,482.63 1,852,009.36 9,459,491.99 Domestic Consumables and Services 3,717,123.11 5,187,167.42 8,904,290.53 Security Services/Equipment 4,346,027.19 2,016,664.73 6,362,691.92 Multimedia equipment 149,875.63 4,128,626.25 4,278,501.88 Electrical Works 2,021,953.74 1,293,640.24 3,315,593.98 Cleaning Materials and Chemicals 1,540,805.38 1,420,947.83 2,961,753.21 Bush Clearing, Road Maintenance and Equipments 2,150,393.52 710,383.54 2,860,777.06 Office Equipment/machinery and Services 493,719.52 1,980,702.66 2,474,422.18 Furniture 819,043.68 1,443,438.21 2,262,481.89 Machinery Spares & Repairs/Services 986,109.55 1,177,007.84 2,163,117.39 Telecommunication Equipment & Services 1,033,234.18 984,191.58 2,017,425.76 Cleaning services 824,441.66 1,076,413.66 1,900,855.32 Transport Services 367,290.09 1,013,952.83 1,381,242.92 Printing Services 284,739.89 697,587.07 982,326.96 Funeral Services 364,419.4 562,813.06 927,232.46 Hiring Services 290,053.24 466,901.24 756,954.48 Livestock 457,990 177,968.4 635,958.4 Gardening/Landscaping Services and tools 111,981.35 439,232.09 551,213.44 Agricultural Products 243,522.89 276,284.13 519,807.02 Advertising Services 73,017.6 369,446.8 442,464.4 practical subjects equipment, materials and Educational Services 119,963.95 279,652.37 399,616.32 Postal and Courier Services 47,125.6 207,980.53 255,106.13 Refrigeration and Air conditioning 58,519.56 158,807.93 217,327.49 Camping Equipment 108,926.89 88,837.68 197,764.57 Signage 108,869.1 50,886.88 159,755.98 Sportswear/Equipment 92,971.51 55,243.45 148,214.96

10/07/2009

Subscription Fees 82,071.4 45,676.84 127,748.24 Others 37,412.81 75,171.69 112,584.5 Legal Services 27,136.87 71,782.12 98,918.99 Fire Fighting Equipments 46,481.64 38,810.95 85,292.59 Botswana Flag 6,882.75 23,331.05 30,213.8 Welding Materials, Equipments and Services 17,545.01 11,215 28,760.01 Decoration materials and services 9,537.95 16,215.18 25,753.13

10/07/2009

A6.18. MINISTRY OF WORKS AND TRANSPORT Expenditure PRODUCT/SERVICE 2005/06 2006/07 TOTAL

Vehicle Services , Repairs &Parts 35,270,883.74 56,224,743.61 91,495,627.35 Building Materials 2,278,739.38 3,846,293.4 6,125,032.78 Electrical Materials and Appliances 2,490,563.99 3,101,530.84 5,592,094.83 Medication, Health Equipments and Services 3,801,594.49 421,383.1 4,222,977.59 IT Equipments & Services 1,543,356.77 2,615,786.14 4,159,142.91 Training Services 869,090.4 2,868,295.6 3,737,386 Cleaning Materials and Chemicals 1,974,144.91 1,279,899.82 3,254,044.73 Fire Fighting Equipments 34,127.4 3,008,286.15 3,042,413.55 Stationery 1,270,935.61 1,543,355.82 2,814,291.43 Product Unknown 450,294.53 2,142,129.3 2,592,423.83 Machinery Spares & Repairs/Services 577,032.2312 1,120,894.99 1,697,927.221 Domestic Consumables and Services 575,271.26 1,101,559.21 1,676,830.47 Construction Works 378,998.86 1,092,508.86 1,471,507.72 Refrigeration and Air conditioning 637,348.53 715,333.6 1,352,682.13 Office Equipment/machinery and Services 369,822.6 890,869.91 1,260,692.51 Clothing and Protective Clothing 668,747.7 495,901.11 1,164,648.81 Furniture 200,100.55 914,044.65 1,114,145.2 Electrical Works 541,354.5 422,593.01 963,947.51 Accommodation, Catering &Conference facilities 388,977.39 398,192.72 787,170.11 Fuels & Lubricants 222,776.04 240,814.71 463,590.7514 Telecommunication Equipment & Services 316,213.3 65,144 381,357.3 Consultancy and Testing Services 9,876 304,811 314,687 Water utilities and services 99,839.2 179,865.27 279,704.47 Food Stuffs 131,650.26 92,033.71 223,683.97 Cleaning services 21,832.35 201,453.19 223,285.54 Multimedia equipment 17,208.83 160,315.75 177,524.58 Security Services/Equipment 64,407.4 96,904.7 161,312.1 Advertising Services 61,291.89 98,023.5 159,315.39 Printing Services 39,048.9 116,811.55 155,860.45 Postal and Courier Services 122,709.17 17,282.18 139,991.35 Product Not Stated 84,950.16 54,406.55 139,356.71 Agricultural Products 36,021.48 77,670.23 113,691.71 Transport Services 24,168.85 84,743.04 108,911.89 practical subjects equipment, materials and Educational Services 3,496.3 94,282.88 97,779.18 Camping Equipment 75,097.15 18,738.9 93,836.05 Hiring Services 23,411.4 51,597.65 75,009.05 Gardening/Landscaping Services and tools 24,003.1 35,233.84 59,236.94 Bush Clearing, Road Maintenance and Equipments 24,092.5 24,005.26 48,097.76 Subscription Fees 3,326.99 40,590.05 43,917.04 Welding Materials, Equipments and Services 1,138.5 35,767.61 36,906.11 Signage 4,863.5 27,937.53 32,801.03

10/07/2009

Botswana Flag 12,670.55 6,672.65 19,343.2 Others 0 13,684 13,684 Decoration materials and services 8,082.9 0 8,082.9 Livestock 0 4,500 4,500 Sportswear/Equipment 0 3,055.5 3,055.5 Funeral Services 1,716.2 1,132 2,848.2

10/07/2009

PARASTATALS TABLES

A7.1: ENUMERATED PARASTATALS Parastatal Name Acronym Location Frequency Percent

Air Botswana AB Gaborone 1 4.2 Botswana Agricultural Marketing Board BAMB Gaborone 1 4.2 Botswana Export Development & Investment Authority BEDIA Gaborone 1 4.2 Botswana Football Association BFA Gaborone 1 4.2 Botswana Housing Corporation BHC Gaborone 1 4.2 Botswana Institute of Development Policy Analysis BIDPA Gaborone 1 4.2 Botswana Integrated Sports Association BISA Gaborone 1 4.2 Botswana National Productivity Centre BNPC Gaborone 1 4.2 Botswana National Sports Council BNSC Gaborone 1 4.2 Botswana Bureau of Standards BOBS Gaborone 1 4.2 Botswana Post BP Gaborone 1 4.2 Botswana Power Corporation BPC Gaborone 1 4.2 Botswana Railways BR Mahalapye 1 4.2 Botswana Technology Centre BOTEC Gaborone 1 4.2 Botswana Telecommunications Authority BTA Gaborone 1 4.2 Botswana Tourism Board BTB Gaborone 1 4.2 Botswana Training Authority BOTA Gaborone 1 4.2 International Financial Services Centre IFSC Gaborone 1 4.2 Local Enterprise Authority LEA Gaborone 1 4.2 National Development Bank NDB Gaborone 1 4.2 Public Enterprises Evaluation & Privatisation Agency PEEPA Gaborone 1 4.2 Rural Industries Promotions Company RIPCO Gaborone 1 4.2 University of Botswana UB Gaborone 1 4.2 Water Utilities Corporation WUC Gaborone 1 4.2 Total 24 100.0

10/07/2009

A 7.2: PARASTATALS FREQUENTLY PROCURED PRODUCTS & SERVICES Parastatal Frequently procured Products and Services AB Cleaning Services, Fuels & Lubricants, stationery,

Foodstuffs, Refrigeration Services BAMB Agric Products, stationery, Foodstuffs, IT Equipment &

Services, Consultancy Services BEDIA Stationery, Office Equipment, Furniture, Staff uniform,

Accommodation, Conference & catering BFA Stationery, sportswear/equipment, Cleaning Services BHC Building Materials, Construction Works, Cleaning Services,

Accommodation, Security Equipment & Services BIDPA Stationery, Cleaning Materials, IT Equipment & Services BISA sportswear/equipment, stationery, Accommodation &

Catering Services, Furniture BNPC Furniture, Cleaning Services, Stationery, Construction

Works, Accommodation, Conference & catering BNSC Stationery, Furniture, Cleaning Services, Construction

Works, conference facilities BOBS Stationery, Construction Works, Security Equipment &

Services, Cleaning Services, Foodstuffs BOTA Stationery, Foodstuffs, Furniture, Vehicle purchases &

repairs, Cleaning Services, Construction Works BOTEC Stationery, Cleaning Materials, Foodstuffs, Furniture,

Construction Works BP Stationery , Office Equipment, Accommodation &

Catering Services, FurnitureBPC Electrical materials, Vehicle purchases & repairs, Electrical

works, Foodstuffs, Furniture, Cleaning Services BR Construction Works, Telecoms Equipment, Machinery

purchases & Repairs, Cleaning Materials BTA Cleaning Services, Construction Works, IT Equipment &

Services, Stationery, Staff uniform BTB Cleaning Materials, Transport Services, Accommodation,

Conference & catering, IT Equipment & Services, Advertising Services

IFSC Building Materials, Cleaning Materials, IT Equipment & Services, Gardening Services, Fuels & Lubricants

LEA Consultancy Services, Furniture, Stationery, Accommodation, Vehicle purchases & repairs, Fuels & Lubricants

NDB Stationery, Furniture, Security Equipment & Services, Cleaning Services, Advertising Services

PEEPA Stationery, Foodstuffs, Legal Services, Consultancy Services, Cleaning Services

RIPCO (B) Stationery, Advertising Services, Office Equipment, Security Equipment & Services, Cleaning Services

10/07/2009

UB Foodstuffs, Transport Services, Accommodation, Conference & catering, Construction Works, Gardening Services, Cleaning Services

WUC Foodstuffs, Stationery, Cleaning Materials, Fuels & Lubricants, Consultancy Services

A7.3: Frequency of Purchase of Essential Products

Products & Services Monthly Once a year

More than a year

When Needed Totals

Accommodation, Catering & Conference Facilities 4 1 1 4 10 Advertising Services 1 1 1 3 Agric Products 1 1 Building Materials 2 2Cleaning Materials 4 2 1 7 Cleaning Services 3 7 1 11 Construction Works 5 1 1 1 8 Consultancy Services 1 1 2 4Electrical Materials 1 1 Electrical Works 1 1 Food Stuffs 6 3 1 10Fuels & Lubricants 2 2 4 Furniture 2 2 2 3 9 Gardening & Landscaping Services 1 1 2 IT Equipments & Services 3 1 1 5Legal Services 1 1 2 Lubricants 1 1 Machinery Repairs/Services 1 1 Machinery Spares 1 1 Office Equipment/machinery 2 1 3 Refrigeration 1 1 Security Services & Equipment 2 2 4 Sportswear/ & Equipment 3 4 7 Staff Uniform 1 1 2 Stationery 9 7 3 19Telecom Equipment & Services 1 1 Transport 2 2 Vehicle Purchases 1 1 1 3 TOTALS 50 40 7 28 125PERCENT(%) 40 32 5.6 22.4 100

10/07/2009

A 7.4.: PARASTATALS EXPENIDTURE FOR 2005/6 (%) Parastatal SMEs Large Enterprises Foreign Total AB 46.94 53.06 0.00 100 BAMB 78.14 21.86 0.00 100 BEDIA 23.26 76.74 0.00 100 BHC 67.76 32.24 0.00 100 BIDPA 34.78 65.22 0.00 100 BIFISC 27.92 72.08 0.00 100 BISA 49.09 50.91 0.00 100 BNPC 27.92 72.08 0 100 BNSC 53.78 46.22 0.00 100 BOBS 54.78 45.22 0.00 0 BOTEC 20.49 79.51 0.00 100 BP 71.80 28.20 0.00 100 BPC 59.56 40.41 0.03 100 BR 0.00 0.00 0.00 100 BTA 41.24 58.76 0.00 100 BTB 19.02 80.98 0.00 0 LEA 0.00 0.00 0.00 100 NDB 46.80 53.20 0.00 100 PEEPA 24.89 75.11 0.00 100 RIPCO 51.37 48.63 0.00 100 UB 24.89 75.11 0.00 100.00 WUC 22.83 77.17 0.00 100 Totals 50.15 49.84 0.02 100.00

10/07/2009

A7.5: PARASTATALS EXPENIDTURE FOR 2006/7 (%) Parastatals SMEs Large Enterprises Foreign Totals AB 52.50 47.50 0.00 100 BAMB 80.27 19.73 0.00 100 BEDIA 41.19 58.81 0.00 100 BHC 69.05 22.98 7.97 100 BIDPA 41.00 59.00 0.00 100 BIFISC 31.62 68.38 0.00 100 BISA 67.45 32.55 0.00 100 BNPC 29.84 69.99 0.15 100 BNSC 70.35 29.46 0.18 100 BOBS 26.84 46.97 26.20 100 BOTEC 64.66 35.25 0.08 100 BP 25.19 74.81 0.00 100 BPC 17.24 62.84 19.91 100 BR 14.11 63.88 22.01 100 BTA 34.88 65.12 0.00 100 BTB 42.38 57.62 0.00 100 LEA 17.80 82.20 0.00 100 NDB 33.51 66.49 0.00 100 PEEPA 42.32 57.68 0.00 100 RIPCO 61.35 38.65 0.00 100 UB 86.58 13.34 0.07 100 WUC 38.80 61.20 0.00 100 Total 40.97 48.05 10.98 100.00

10/07/2009

A 7.6: Quality of Products by Source of Procurement

Quality & Source of Essential Products & Services TOTALS

Local Business Local business and Foreign

Essential Products Average Good Excellent Average Good Excellent

Accommodation, Catering& Conference facilities 0 9 0 1 0 0 10

Advertising Services 0 2 1 0 0 0 3

Agric Products 0 0 0 0 1 0 1

Building Materials 0 1 1 0 0 0 2

Cleaning Materials 3 3 0 0 0 1 7

Cleaning Services 3 6 1 0 0 0 10

Construction Works 4 4 0 0 0 0 8

Consultancy Services 1 1 0 0 2 0 4

Electrical Materials 0 0 0 0 0 1 1

Electrical Works 0 0 1 0 0 0 1

Food Stuffs 1 5 2 0 0 2 10

Fuels 2 0 1 0 0 1 4

Furniture 3 5 1 0 0 0 9Gardening & Landscaping Services 1 1 0 0 0 0 2

IT Equipments & Services 1 4 0 0 0 0 5

Legal Services 0 1 0 0 1 0 2Office Equipment & machinery 0 3 0 0 0 0 3

Refrigeration 1 0 0 0 0 0 1Security Services & Equipment 4 0 0 0 0 0 4

Sportswear & Equipment 1 2 0 0 1 0 4

Staff Uniform 2 0 0 0 0 0 2

Stationery 2 14 3 0 2 0 21Vehicle Purchases & Repairs 1 1 0 0 0 1 3

TOTALS 30 62 11 1 7 6 117

PERCENTS 29.12 60.19 10.67 7.1428 50 42.85714

OVERALL PERCENTS 88.04 11.96 100

10/07/2009

A 7.7: Pricing of Products & Services Pricing Products & Services Affordable Fair Expensive TOTALS

Accommodation, Catering & Conference 3 5 2 10

Advertising Services 0 2 1 3

Agric Products 0 0 1 1



Cleaning Services 4 6 0 10

Construction Works 0 4 4 8

Consultancy Services 0 3 1 4


Electrical Works 0 0 1 1

Food Stuffs 0 8 2 10

Fuels & Lubricants 0 4 0 4

Furniture 1 5 3 9

Gardening &Landscaping Services 0 1 1 2

IT Equipments & Services 0 4 1 5

Legal Services 0 1 1 2

Office Equipment/machinery 0 1 2 3

Refrigeration 1 0 0 1

Security Services &Equipment 1 3 0 4

Sportswear & Equipment 1 2 1 4

Staff Uniform 0 0 2 2


Transport 0 1 1 2

Vehicle Purchases 0 2 1 3

TOTALS 12 76 29 117

% 10.25641 64.95726 24.78632479 100

10/07/2009

A7.8: Quality of Products by Pricing QUALITY & PRICING

TOTALS

Average Good Excellent

PRODUCTS & SERVICES Affordable Fair

Expensive

Affordable Fair

Expensive

Affordable Fair Expensive

Accom, Catering & Conference Facilities 1 2 5 2 10

Advertising Services 1 1 1 3

Agric Products 1 1

Building Materials 1 1 2

Cleaning Materials 2 1 3 1 7

Cleaning Services 1 2 1 4 1 1 10

Construction Works 2 2 2 2 8

Consultancy Services 1 2 1 4

Electrical Materials 1 1

Electrical Works 1 1

Food Stuffs 1 4 1 3 1 10

Fuels & Lubricants 2 1 1 4

Furniture 1 2 2 3 1 9

Gardening/Landscaping Services 1 1 2

IT Equipments & Services 1 3 1 5

Legal Services 1 1 2

Office Equipment/machinery 1 2 3

Refrigeration 1 1

Security Services/Equipment 1 3 4

Sportswear/Equipment 1 2 1 4

Staff Uniform 2 2

Stationery 2 1 11 2 3 19

Transport 1 1 2

Vehicle Purchases & Repairs 1 1 1 3

10/07/2009

A7.9: Response to Challenges when dealing with SMEs. Responses Frequency PercentWe counsel them to improve Service delivery 18 62.1 We reject poor quality products 3 10.3 We educate them on govt. procurement procedures 2 6.9 We cancel orders 2 6.9 We give them more time extensions 1 3.4 We give them money in advance 1 3.4 We exclude those who failed to supply 1 3.4Advise them to improve quality of their products 1 3.4Total 29 100

10/07/2009

A7.10: Products and Services by Value

Year Year

Item 2005/06 2006/7 Grand Total

Stationery 18,352,543.03 8,570,253.11 26,922,796.14

Cleaning Services 4,771,398.483 1,192,408.35 5,963,806.833

Foodstuffs &Beverages 5,168,986.819 2,222,854.715 7,391,841.534

Accommodation, Catering &Conference facilities 9,666,549.211 12,477,263.92 22,143,813.13

Furniture 2,446,233.547 1,899,329.368 4,345,562.915

Construction Works 192,471,462.1 33,352,860.82 225,824,322.9

Cleaning materials & chemicals 2,224,126.067 2,015,425.002 4,239,551.069

Sportswear/Equipment 319,322.82 583,189.8421 902,512.6621

Fuels & Lubricants & Adhesives 7,973,423.672 72,904,428.29 80,877,851.97

IT Equipments &Services 14,523,790.18 10,926,189.73 25,449,979.92

Consultancy Services 10,526,409.17 16,348,654.72 26,875,063.89

Security Services/Equipment 7,050,839.541 10,420,961.58 17,471,801.12

Advertising Services 16,580,083.95 6,636,135.49 23,216,219.44

Office Equipment/Machinery 19,096,633.29 6,016,170.449 25,112,803.74

Vehicle Services, Repairs &Spares 18,360,852.28 56,595,219.56 74,956,071.84

Building Materials 31,150,981.78 14,933,847.56 46,084,829.34

Gardening/Landscaping Services 3,067,175.488 458,589.9 3,525,765.388

Legal Services 806,574.04 860,924.48 1,667,498.52

Staff Uniform 20,240 28,380 48,620

Transport Services 9,369,326.549 19,214,213.49 28,583,540.04

Machinery Spares & Repairs/Services 5,090,073.441 19,341,995.67 24,432,069.11

Agricultural Products & Services 1,580,110.88 20,961,605.32 22,541,716.2

Electrical Materials & Appliances 54,853,655.55 60,239,809.24 115,093,464.8

Electrical Works & Services 2,408,837.519 4,601,238.424 7,010,075.943

Refrigeration& Air-conditioning Services/Equipment 1,394,573.87 776,780.7676 2,171,354.638

Telecom Equipment& Services 7,665,988.763 3,535,676.24 11,201,665

Training Services 2,296,991.885 2,790,042.852 5,087,034.737

Courier Services 352,100.8163 482,297.03 834,397.8463

Hiring Services 434,221.54 1,282,701.93 1,716,923.47

Bush Clearing 477,005.3441 379,924.382 856,929.7261

Medical Supplies& Medication 516,539.2 235,808.1 752,347.3

Counseling Services 1,306 26,500 27,806

Clothing & Safety Equipment 4,160,856.74 2,390,524.713 6,551,381.453

Fire Equipment & Services 266,740.5618 195,878.35 462,618.9118

Corporate Merchandise/Collateral 1,805,488.69 3,482,139.382 5,287,628.072

Gift & Gift Vouchers 34,013.78 145,830.24 179,844.02

Domestic Consumables 934,757.03 298,545.3164 1,233,302.346

Multimedia Equipment 600,100.9159 1,028,617.092 1,628,718.008

Packaging Material 851,231.67 604,009.62 1,455,241.29

Utilities & Services/Bills, Rent 1,648,874.555 4,187,076.171 5,835,950.726

10/07/2009

Road & Packing Signs 135,600.9193 40,962.55 176,563.4693

Quality Standards 124,539.23 805,005.5434 929,544.7734

Debt Collection Services 736,079.82 1,500 737,579.82

Subscriptions 150,240.36 255,008.9106 405,249.2706

Tuition Fees 13,398.4 402,874.4341 416,272.8341

Vat & Allowances 2,181,940.1 2678,594.66 4,860,534.76

Storage 1,399,820.87 5,185.95 1,405,006.82

Items not specified 163,220,050.6 147,983,635.6 311,203,686.2

Total 629,282,091.1 556,817,068.8 1,186,099,159.92

10/07/2009

SMEs Questionnaire

Tel: 3644000; Fax: 3644074

SMES QUESTIONNAIRE

10/07/2009

SMES QUESTIONNAIRE

STATEMENT OF CONFIDENTIALITY

The Local Enterprise Authority (LEA) is conducting a study on Government, Local

Government and Parastatals Procurement from Small Medium Enterprises (SMEs). The main

purpose of this study is to establish the extent to which government and parastatals award

tenders to the SMEs. This will include gathering information on regularity of awards, the size

and scope of such tender awards, the processes and procedures for such tenders and the

challenges therein faced by the SMEs amongst other factors pertinent to SMEs access to such

tenders. The information will assist LEA to carry through its mandate of creating growth

opportunities for SMEs through securing greater access to government procurement contracts

for goods and services with Government Ministries, Local Authorities and the Parastatal

organizations. The study will also assist LEA in identifying potential products and services that

the SMEs could tender for as well as requirements for tendering for such contracts.

The questionnaire is designed for SMEs. Information will be kept confidential and used purely

for the purpose of the research.

Botswana Government and Parastatal Organisations Procurement from SMEs

IN BOTSWANA

BY THE

LOCAL ENTERPRISE AUTHORITY

10/07/2009

SECTION A: General Information

Date of interview

District

Town/Village

Name of Company

Particulars of the company

(phone and postal address)

Person Interviewed

Position of Interviewee

Name of interviewer

Name of Supervisor

Start time ______ End time ________

10/07/2009

Organizational Profile

01. When was your business established?

________________________________________

02. What is the legal registration status of your business? (read out options)

1. Company Pty (LTD)

2. Partnership

3. Company Sole Proprietor

4. Public Company

5. Cooperative

6. Other, specify

________________________________________________

03. Is your business 100% citizen owned?

1. Yes

2. No (specify)

Company Organisation Tick

10/07/2009

Majority citizens

Majority foreigners

Fifty-fifty

Other (Specify)____________________________________

04. Have you registered for VAT?

1. Yes

2. No - Go to 06

05. If yes, what is your VAT registration number?

_____________________________________________________________________

06. If no, why did you not register?

________________________________________________________________________

07. How many people are employed by your business?

Full time employees

Part time employees

Unpaid employees

Temporary employees

Total number of employees

08. In which sector does your business belong? (Multiple answers possible)

1. Agriculture

2. Tourism

3. Services

4. Manufacturing

5. Other, specify

_______________________________________________

10/07/2009

09. Who are the main consumer of your goods and services? (Multiple answers possible)

1. Government

2. Parastatals

3. Private Companies

4. General Public

5. Other, specify

________________________________________________

10. What main products and services does your business supply?

___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________

11. Which additional markets would you want to serve? (Multiple answers possible)

1. Government

2. Parastatals

3. Private Companies

4. General Public

5. None [If none skip to 13]

6. Other, specify

________________________________________________

12. What in your view would improve your ability to service these markets? (Multiple answers

possible)

1. Skilled personnel

2. Good infrastructure

3. Use of improved technology

4. Quality products

5. Timely delivery

6. Others, specify

____________________________________________________

____________________________________________

10/07/2009

13. What are the three main challenges you face in trying to penetrate market?

1._____________________________________________________________________

2.______________________________________________________________________

3.______________________________________________________________________

14. Which skills do you need for your business to be more competitive?

___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

SECTION C

Business Processes

15. Has your company ever won a tender or being selected to supply goods and services

(quotations) to government or parastatal?

1. Yes

2. No - Go to 19

16. If yes what have you won?

1. Tender

2. Selected to Supply

3. Both

17. What products and services were you supplying for the above?

Products 1 2 3 4 5

Tender

Selected to

supply

(quotations)

10/07/2009

18. The highest amount I have ever won for a tender/selected to supply Government or

Parastatal was:

Amount

Tender

Selected to Supply

(quotations)

19. How often do you tender for government contracts? (Multiple answers possible)

1. Whenever tenders are advertised

2. Once a year

3. Twice a year

4. Quarterly

Others, specify __________________________________________

20. How often do you tender for Parastatals contracts? (Multiple answers possible)

1. Whenever tenders are advertised

2. Once a year

3. Twice a year

4. Quarterly

Others, specify _________________________________________

21. How often do you submit quotations for government supplies?

1. Whenever quotations are requested.

2. Once a year

3. Twice a year

4. Quarterly

Others, specify __________________________________________

22. How often do you submit quotations for parastatal supplies?

1. Whenever quotations are requested.

10/07/2009

2. Once a year

3. Twice a year

4. Quarterly

Others, specify _________________________________________

23. Where do you source the goods and services you supply to government and Parastatals?

(Multiple answers possible)

1. Local Manufacturer

2. Local supplier

3. External supplies/Supply

4. Own production

Others, specify

______________________________________________

24. Where do you source the raw materials for goods and services you supply?

___________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________

25. How do you get to know about the tenders available in the government and parastatals?


1. Print media

2. Government gazette

3. Government website

4. Verbal

5. Selective invitation

Other, specify

______________________________________________

26. How do you get to know about the quotations available in the government and parastatals?


1. When requests for quotations are made

2. Government gazette

3. Government website

4. Verbal

10/07/2009

Other, specify

_________________________________

27. Who completes the tender documents for you? Please circle

1. Company representative

2. Consultants

3. Family members

Others, specify ______________________________________

28. The government and parastatal tendering processes are very complex.

1. Strongly disagree

2. Disagree

3. Neutral

4. Agree

5. Strongly agree

29. If 4 or 5 in question 28 please state the nature of complexities.

___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

30. My business/company has the right resources and expertise to complete tendering

contracts.


2. Disagree

3.Neutral

4.Agree

5. Strongly agree

31. What have been your main challenges in relation to winning tenders?

___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

10/07/2009

32. My business/company has the right resources and expertise to complete quotations.


2. Disagree

3. Neutral

4. Agree

5. Strongly agree

33. What have been your main challenges in relation to winning quotations?

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________

34.Have you ever failed to meet the obligations of a contract? Please circle

1.Yes

2.No – Go to 36

35.If yes, what were the reasons for failure to deliver?

___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

36. Do you regularly prepare any form of financial reports?

1.Yes

2.No – Go to 38

37. If yes, please give details of the kinds of reports you prepare.

Kinds of financial reports Yes No

1. Income Statements

2. Balanced Sheets

3. Cash flow

10/07/2009

4. Management accounts

5. Financial statements

6. Other (specify)

38. What is your annual turnover?

___________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________

39. Have you received any assistance from the following institutions? (Multiple answers possible)

Institution Yes No Gra

nt

Loan Infrastruc

ture

inputs

Personnel

resources

Expertise

/Advice

Other,

Specify

LEA

CEDA

Governmen

t

Donor

Agencies

Commercia

l Banks

Other,

Specify

40. Overall, are you satisfied with the level of support you get from the above institutions?

Please circle

1. Yes

2. No

41. Do you have any plans to expand your business in the near future?

1. Yes

2. No – Go to 44

10/07/2009

42. If yes, what are these plans?

___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

43. How are you going to finance the expansion? Please circle

1. Personal savings

2. Bank loan

3. Donors

4. CEDA

5. Company profits

Other(specify)

___________________________________________

44. Have you ever tried to go into strategic partnership with any enterprise? Please circle

1. Yes

2. No – go to 46

45. What kind of strategic partnership did you have?

________________________________________________________________________

46. Has your business been sub-contracted by any enterprise before?

1. Yes

2. No – Go to 49

Other, specify

_____________________

47. If yes how many times? Please circle

1. Once

2. Twice or more

48. What were you sub-contracted to do?

Strategic Partnership

10/07/2009

___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

49. Any other comments you may wish to make.

___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

__________________

THANK YOU

10/07/2009

CENTRAL AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT QUESTIONNAIRE

Tel: 3644000; Fax: 3644074

CENTRAL AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT QUESTIONNAIRE

GOVERNMENT AND PARASTATAL QUESTIONNAIRE


The Local Enterprise Authority (LEA) is conducting a study on Government, Local

Government and Parastatals Procurement from Small Medium Enterprises (SMEs).

The main purpose of this study is to establish the extent to which government and

parastatals award tenders to the SMEs. This will include gathering information on

regularity of awards, the size and scope of such tender awards, the processes and

procedures for such tenders and the challenges therein faced by the SMEs amongst

other factors pertinent to SMEs access to such tenders. The information will assist

LEA to carry through its mandate of creating growth opportunities for SMEs

through securing greater access to government procurement contracts for goods and

services with Government Ministries, Local Authorities and the Parastatal

organizations. The study will also assist LEA in identifying potential products and

services that the SMEs could tender for as well as requirements for tendering for

such contracts.

The questionnaire is designed for government ministries, departments and

parastatals. Information will be kept confidential and used purely for the purpose of

the research.

I

205

Ministry

Department

Town/Village

Person Interviewed


Name of interviewer

Name of Supervisor

Date of interview

Start time _______ End time ________

SECTION A: GENERAL INFORMATION

206

SECTION B

PROCUREMENT PROCESSES

1. What essential products and services do you normally purchase for your

organization?

1.______________________________________________________________________

2.______________________________________________________________________

3.______________________________________________________________________

4.______________________________________________________________________

5.______________________________________________________________________

2. How often do you buy these products and services?

Product Monthly Quarterly Twice a year Other(specify)

1

2

3

4

5

3. Where do you mostly purchase these products and services in Question 1?

Product Local

businesses

Foreign

businesses(imports)

Government

Supplies

Department

Other(specify)

1

2

207

3

4

5

4. What is the total value of the products and services you purchased in the last two

financial years?

1. 2005/6……………………….

2. 2006/7……………………….

5. What is the value of your purchase from the following categories?

Category 2005/06 2006/7

SMES

LSEs

Other

6. On the following scale, how would you rate the process of doing business with

local SME suppliers in terms of quality of products? (Essential products in question

1)

Quality of products Very poor Poor Average Good Excellent

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

208


local SME suppliers in terms of Pricing of products? (Essential products in question

1)

Pricing Cheap Fair Expensive

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.


local SME suppliers in terms of delivery time? (Essential products in question 1)

Delivery Time Very poor Poor Average Good Excellent

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

09. What are your payment times?

1. Payment on delivery

2. 14 days after delivery

3. One month after delivery

4. Two months after delivery

5. Other, specify

______________________________________________________

209

SECTION C- POLICY ISSUES

10. What procurement policies does your organization/department have in place

and when were they developed?

Policy Year developed

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

11. Is procurement from local SMEs considered to be a priority in your organization?

1. Yes

2. No

3. Do not know

12. Does your procurement policy provide for reservations for local SMES?

1. Yes

2. No

13. If yes, how?

210

SECTION D – Opportunities for SMEs

14. Which products and services would you prefer to buy from local SMEs in the

future?

___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________

SECTION E – CHALLENGES

15. What challenges do you face when purchasing from local SMEs? (Please list as

many as possible.)

1.______________________________________________________________________

2.______________________________________________________________________

3.______________________________________________________________________

4.______________________________________________________________________

5.______________________________________________________________________

16. How do you address these challenges? (In Question 15)

___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

17. What improvements would you recommend in improving the tendering

processes of local SMEs suppliers?

1._____________________________________________________________________

2.______________________________________________________________________

3.______________________________________________________________________

4.______________________________________________________________________

5.______________________________________________________________________

211

18. Are there any products/services you wanted to buy locally but failed to find

suppliers?

1. Yes

2. No

19. (a) If yes, list three such products

1) _________________________

2) _________________________

3) _________________________

20. List three main advantages of doing business with local SMEs suppliers.

1. ______________________________________________________________________

2. ______________________________________________________________________

21. What terms and conditions do you impose on other suppliers that may be

beneficial to local SMEs suppliers?

_____________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________

22. Please make any other comments.

___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________

212

PARASTATALS QUESTIONNAIRE

Tel: 3644000; Fax: 3644074

PARASTATAL QUESTIONNAIRE

213

GOVERNMENT AND PARASTATAL QUESTIONNAIRE


The Local Enterprise Authority (LEA) is conducting a study on Government,

Local Government and Parastatals Procurement from Small Medium Enterprises

(SMEs). The main purpose of this study is to establish the extent to which

government and parastatals award tenders to the SMEs. This will include

gathering information on regularity of awards, the size and scope of such tender

awards, the processes and procedures for such tenders and the challenges

therein faced by the SMEs amongst other factors pertinent to SMEs access to such

tenders. The information will assist LEA to carry through its mandate of creating

growth opportunities for SMEs through securing greater access to government

procurement contracts for goods and services with Government Ministries, Local

Authorities and the Parastatal organizations. The study will also assist LEA in

identifying potential products and services that the SMEs could tender for as

well as requirements for tendering for such contracts.

The questionnaire is designed for government ministries, departments and

parastatals. Information will be kept confidential and used purely for the

purpose of the research.

214

Name of Parastatal

Town/Village

Person Interviewed


Name of interviewer

Name of Supervisor

Date of interview

Start time _______ End time ________

SECTION A: GENERAL INFORMATION

215

SECTION B

PROCUREMENT PROCESSES

1. What essential products and services do you normally purchase for your

organization?

1.______________________________________________________________________

2.______________________________________________________________________

3.______________________________________________________________________

4.______________________________________________________________________

5.______________________________________________________________________

6.______________________________________________________________________

2. How often do you procure these products and services?

Product Monthly Quarterly Twice a year Other(specify)

1

2

3

4

5

3. Where do you mostly purchase these products and services in Question 1?

Product Local

businesses

Foreign

businesses(imports)

Other(specify)

1

2

216

3

4

5

4. What is the total value of the products and services you purchased in the last

two financial years?

3. 2005/6……………………….

4. 2006/7……………………….

5. What is the value of your purchase from the following categories?

Category 2005/06 2006/7

SMES

LSEs

Other

6. On the following scale, how would you rate the process of doing business

with local SME suppliers in terms of quality of products? (Essential products in

question 1)

Quality of products Very poor Poor Average Good Excellent

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

217


with local SME suppliers in terms of Pricing of products? (Essential products in

question 1)

Pricing Cheap Fair Expensive

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.


with local SME suppliers in terms of delivery time? (Essential products in

question 1)

Delivery Time Very poor Poor Average Good Excellent

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

09. What are your payment times?

6. Payment on delivery

218

7. 14 days after delivery

8. One month after delivery

9. Two months after delivery

10. Other, specify

______________________________________________________

SECTION C- POLICY ISSUES

10. What procurement policies does your organization/department have in place

and when were they developed?

Policy Year developed

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

11. Is procurement from local SMEs considered to be a priority in your

organization?

4. Yes

5. No

6. Do not know

12. Does your procurement policy provide for reservations for local SMES?

3. Yes

4. No

219

13. If yes, how?

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

SECTION D – Opportunities for SMEs

14. Which products and services would you prefer to buy from local SMEs in the

future?

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

SECTION E – CHALLENGES

15. What challenges do you face when procuring from local SMEs? (Please list as

many as possible.)

1.______________________________________________________________________

2.______________________________________________________________________

3.______________________________________________________________________

4.______________________________________________________________________

5.______________________________________________________________________

16. How do you address these challenges? (In Question 15)

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

220

17. What improvements would you recommend in improving the tendering

processes of local SMEs suppliers?

1.______________________________________________________________________

2.______________________________________________________________________

3.______________________________________________________________________

4.______________________________________________________________________

5.______________________________________________________________________

18. Are there any products/services you wanted to buy locally but failed to find

suppliers?

3. Yes

4. No

19. (a) If yes, list three such products.

1) ____________________________________________________

2) ____________________________________________________

3) ____________________________________________________

20. List three main advantages of doing business with local SMEs suppliers.

1. ______________________________________________________________________

2. ______________________________________________________________________

3.______________________________________________________________________

221

21. What terms and conditions do you impose on other suppliers that may be

beneficial to local SMEs suppliers?

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

22. Please make any other comments.

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

Thank you

222

LIST OF RESPONDENTS- SMALL MEDIUM ENTERPRISES

Location SME Name Gaborone Abe's Furniture&Jobbing Gaborone Aero Civil Engineering Gaborone Aluminium 2000 Gaborone Angela Enterprises Gaborone Antalis Botswana Gaborone Arma guard Security Gaborone Artswana Gaborone Associated Engineering Supplie Gaborone Associated Printers Gaborone AT & T Monnakgotla Gaborone B & T Directories Gaborone Blocks IT Gaborone Bonanza Equipment Gaborone Botschem Pharmacy Gaborone Botswana Book Centre Gaborone Botswana Craft Gaborone Butterfield Broadhurst Gaborone Cabling for Africa Gaborone Camp Fire Investments Gaborone Cannon Gaborone Carworld Panel beating Gaborone City Radio Gaborone Command Security Gaborone Contract Flooring Gaborone Corporate Business Solutions Gaborone DBHS Automation & Technology Gaborone Delta Pharmaceuticals Gaborone Elfregiration Gaborone Elliott International Gaborone Equipment Sales and Services Gaborone Exclusive books Gaborone Explosion Gaborone Fire fighting products & service Gaborone Frensch Corporation Gaborone Fridge Air Gaborone Fruit & Veg City Gaborone Gaborone Hoses & Fittings Gaborone Gabz FM Gaborone Glo-Lite Investments Gaborone Global Care Botswana Gaborone I-Com

223

Gaborone ICT Dynamics Gaborone ICT Dynamics Branch Gaborone Impex Fasteners & Tools Gaborone Impression House Gaborone JB Sports Gaborone Jumping Jack Gaborone Kgale Quarries Gaborone Kingsley Associates Gaborone Kopano Stores Gaborone LaFarge Gypsum Gaborone Laser Tech Gaborone Lock City Gaborone M & P Cables Gaborone Market Place Gaborone Marketing Communications Gaborone Mast Botswana Gaborone McStan Holdings Gaborone Medina Chickens Gaborone MEM Engineering Gaborone Merz Mclellan Gaborone Mike Oliver Agencies Gaborone Mine quip Gaborone Moffet Scale Services Gaborone Mukwa Interiors Gaborone Mullil Enterprises Gaborone Nira Holding Gaborone Northern Fixtures Gaborone Office Technique Gaborone Omega Gaborone Orbit Pumps Gaborone Oseg Group Gaborone Otis Elevator Gaborone Panasonic Business Systems Gaborone Performance Resources Gaborone Personalised Creations Gaborone Pinnacle Media Gaborone Pro stationers Gaborone Quick Print Gaborone Real Time Solutions Gaborone Rep Office World Gaborone RFT Botswana Gaborone RS Electrical & Hardware Gaborone Samco Gaborone Security Systems Gaborone Sharps Electrical Gaborone Sheer Water Investments Gaborone Soil Engineers Gaborone Specialised Commodities

224

Gaborone Super Trading Gaborone Sylphates Executive Gaborone Tectura Gaborone Tosas Botswana Gaborone Trade Channel Gaborone Trans Africa Gaborone Travel Star Gaborone Tshepho tiles Gaborone Tyre Fix Gaborone Verec Pty Ltd Gaborone Vibration Auto Gaborone White City Discount Gaborone Yarona Country Lodge Gaborone Zebra Shipping Francistown Agrichem Packston Investments Francistown Flyt serve Francistown Ice Cold Refrigeration Francistown J Haskins & Sons Francistown Panda Francistown Silverton Francistown Target flooring & hardware Selebi Phikwe Botshabelo Pharmacy Selebi Phikwe Ms Veg Selebi Phikwe MSC Enterprises Selebi Phikwe Pioneer (Pty) Ltd Selebi Phikwe Selibe Phikwe Consumer Coop So Kasane Cayra Investment Kasane Into Chobe Enterprise Kasane John Liba Holding Kasane Ozziyrips Investments Kasane Tri Flex Solutions Maun Onka's Tailor Shop Maun River Valley Investments Maun Selby School Fashions Maun Tek Tek Transport Hire Maun Top Still Engineering Mahalapye Exact Exhaust Mahalapye Ikin's Pharmacy Mahalapye Student Stationers Mahalapye Tyre World Palapye Limpopo Fresh Produce Palapye Lotsane Hardware Palapye Quartz Palapye Tau L Tapela Serowe Excel Stationers Serowe Kingsaver Tsabong Mokha Lodge Molepolole Asim's Wholesale

225

Molepolole Bakwena Motors Molepolole Balbir Molepolole Molepolole Hardware Molepolole Western Fried Chicken Jwaneng BP Fruitreers Jwaneng Diamond Fire Jwaneng Jacaranda Jwaneng Jwaneng Meat Market Jwaneng Rinimy Enterprises Sebina Omi Wholesalers Kang Echo Lodge Kang Kang Meat Market Kang Phil Enterprises Gantsi Gantsi Grand Guesthouse Gantsi GFS Tyres Gantsi K-One Restaurant Gantsi Pilot Poverty Alleviation Hous

226

LIST OF RESPONDENTS: MINISTRY DEPARTMENTS

Agric Research Kwenasereto CJSS Animal Health and Production Kweneng District Council Baitlotli CJSS Moruakgomo CJSS Bakgatle Gaborone West CJSS Baratani CJSS Dithejwane CJSS Bokamoso CJSS Motwasele CJSS Bonnington CJSS Boitshoko CJSS Central Bobirwa Sub Policy Planning, M&E Central Serowe/Palapye National Health Lab Central Tonota sub Health Sector Relations Central Tutume sub Clinical Services Chobe CJSS Department of Technical Services Chobe District Council DVET Crop Production District Office Serowe College of Education Central Transport Organisation Madiba Senior SS Curriculum Development and Evaluation Department National Health Laboratory Customary Court of Appeal Public Health District Council Office Shoshong Senior Secondary Department of Building and Engineering Services Mojamorago CJSS Department of Civil Aviation Clinical Services Department of Teacher Training Central Medical Stores Etsha CJSS Selebi Phikwe SSS Francistown Senior Secondary School Francistown College of Education Gabane CJSS Mosikare CJSS Gaborone Secondary School Mahalapye CJSS Gaborone City Council Local Government Service Management Gantsi Senior Secondary School Shoshong CJSS Ghanzi District Council Education Centre Goldmine CJSS Civil Aviation Itekeng CJSS Parwe CJSS Itereleng CJSS Mosetlha CJSS Ithuteng CJSS Selebi Phikwe VTC Jwaneng Town Council Matshekge Hill School Kagiso Senior Mabogo CJSS Kelemogile CJSS Palapye VTC Kgale Hill CJSS Kgari Sechele Kgamanyane CJSS ATTC Kgosimpe CJSS Radisele CJSS

227

Ledumadumane CJSS Swaneng Hill Secondary Ledumang Senior Policy Planning Manitoring and Evaluation Lehutshelo CJSS HIV/AIDS Prevention and Care Letlhabile CJSS Makhubu CJSS Lobatse Senior Tlhalogang CJSS Maikano CJSS Tlokweng CJSS Maoka CJSS Tlokweng College of Education Marang CJSS Tonota College of Education Marulamantsi CJSS Tribal Admin Office Masunga Senior Tsabong CJSS Mater Spei College Tshegetsang CJSS Matsha College Tshwaragano CJSS Maun Senior Crop Production Regional Office McConnell College Secondary Education Ministry Management Bakwena Kgari CJSS Moeding College Roads Transport & Safety Mogoditshane CJSS North West District Molepolole College of Education Rural Training Centre Moselewapula CJSS Mowana CJSS Motaung CJSS Lotsane Senior Motswakhumo CJSS Mannathoko CJSS Motswedi CJSS Palapye CJSS Mphutlhe CJSS Sedie CJSS Naledi Secondary Sedumedi CJSS Nanogang CJSS Seepapitso Senior Naresereto CJSS Setlalekgosi CJSS Non Formal Shakawe CJSS Ntebogang CJSS Shangano CJSS Okavango CJSS Shashe River School Okavango Sub District Sir Seretse Khama CJSS Pandagala CJSS South East District Council Pitikwe CJSS Southern District Council Popagano CJSS Selibe-Phikwe Town

Council Primary Education St Josephs College Ramotswa CJSS Taung CJSS Sedibelo CJSS

228

Parastatal Name Air Botswana Botswana Agricultural Marketing Board Botswana Export Development & Investment Authority Botswana Football Association Botswana Housing Corporation Botswana Institute of Development Policy Analysis Botswana Integrated Sports Association Botswana National Productivity Centre Botswana National Sports Council Botswana Bureau of Standards Botswana Post Botswana Power Corporation Botswana Railways Botswana Technology Centre Botswana Telecommunications Authority Botswana Tourism Board Botswana Training Authority International Financial Services Centre Local Enterprise Authority National Development Bank Public Enterprises Evaluation & Privatisation Agency Rural Industries Promotions Company University of Botswana Water Utilities Corporation