- Tsaone Segaetsho
The Botswana Meat Commission (BMC), the state-owned entity at the heart of the country’s beef export sector, has once again come under parliamentary scrutiny, this time over the collapse of its Francistown abattoir.
The northern facility, which was closed in 2018, recorded losses amounting to P55 million due to persistent underutilisation and a sharp decline in cattle throughput caused by recurring outbreaks of Foot and Mouth Disease.
Established in 1987, the Francistown abattoir was designed to process 400 cattle per day, equating to 88 000 annually. However, by 2011, slaughter numbers had dropped to just 10 000 cattle, representing a mere 11 percent of the facility’s intended capacity.
“In the years leading to its closure, the plant was operating at less than 25 percent of capacity, incurring significant financial losses,” Assistant Minister of Agriculture, Edwin Dikoloti, told Parliament this week.
“This unstable financial position placed a significant burden on the Shareholder, the Government of Botswana, ultimately prompting the decision to cease operations and place the facility under a care and maintenance programme.”
The issue was raised in the National Assembly as MPs sought clarity on the future of the Commission, particularly in light of Botswana’s recent successes in accessing premium beef markets in China, Norway,and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The developments have reignited optimism about the potential for export-led recovery within the beef industry.
The BMC, under the interim leadership of Mmabasotho Tibe, currently operates three abattoirs located in Lobatse, Francistown and Maun. Of these, only the Lobatse plant, located 100 kilometres south of Gaborone, remains operational. Both the Francistown and Maun facilities have been idled by disease outbreaks that continue to undermine cattle supply in northern regions.
Dikoloti confirmed that the government remains committed to revitalising the beef sector through national and regional initiatives aimed at increasing the cattle population.
He added that should cattle numbers rise to sustainable levels, the Francistown plant will be reopened for commercial slaughtering, which he anticipated to happen in the near future.
In the interim, the Ministry of Agriculture has instructed BMC to make strategic use of its cold storage facilities to generate income, as part of efforts to stabilise operations and prepare for a potential reopening.
The BMC remains a cornerstone of Botswana’s agricultural economy, and its ability to regain financial and operational stability will be critical as the country seeks to solidify its position in global beef export markets, Dikoloti added.
