Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
45
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
A
B
C
D
Key: Left to right, columns represent citizen-owned; joint venture;
foreign-owned
Figure 10.1
Ownership by business category
'citizen' category by race or locality. But it is clear that so-called Category B enter-
prises include the flagship products of Ngamiland's tourism sector (the high value
lodges of the Okavango) and that this category is dominated by foreign ownership
either through direct holdings or via joint ventures with Botswana nationals.
Although the figures are not available, it is evident that, if segmented by value,
foreign ownership of tourism assets in Ngamiland would be even more prominent
than in the numbers presented above (Category B enterprises include a large
proportion of the sector's high value enterprises). The relatively high number of
joint ventures are probably also an indication of the rent-seeking participation by
Botswana nationals referred to above.
The high levels of foreign ownership evident in the lodge component of the
Ngamiland tourism cluster - especially at the higher value end of the industry - is
not surprising given the introductory discussion of this chapter. It is almost certainly
a consequence of the expatriate-driven history of the cluster as well as the global
character of high value tourism in general (which relies on worldwide linkages to
penetrate its mainly international markets). Industry stakeholders in individual
interviews and focus group discussions cited further reasons for the relatively low
level of domestic ownership in the Ngamiland tourism sector. Some claimed that
citizen participation was inhibited by a domestic culture that is risk-averse and non-
entrepreneurial. Others referred to the absence of appropriate financial products
designed to accommodate the specific cash flow needs of ecotourism enterprises
while at the same time promoting citizen participation in the sector. It was claimed
that the financial products offered by Botswana's Citizen Entrepreneurial
Development Agency were not appropriate to the needs of the high value
ecotourism sector, which is capital-intensive but typically suffers from long product
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