11 Oct 2016

Minister of Mineral Resources, Green Technology and Energy Security, Advocate Sadique Kebonang, says provisional liquidation of BCL Mine should not be politicised.

Responding to comments from some councillors during a Selebi Phikwe Town Council special full council meeting on Monday (October 10), Advocate Kebonang said the mine and Selebi Phikwe were in a state of despair, therefore the liquidation matter should be looked at objectively with seriousness instead of throwing flairs of anger at the situation and pointing fingers.

He said the decision for provisional liquidation came about following consultations with relevant authorities including BCL Mine management, Botswana Mine Workers Union (BMWU) and the Selebi Phikwe business community.

He said the decision was finalised on Friday (October 7) afternoon when a Cabinet sub-committee was immediately assigned to inform the mine workers about the closure of the mine the same day.

He said the sub-committee arrived in Selebi Phikwe the same day to hold an emergency meeting with the mine management, senior government officials and Botswana Mine Workers Union where they subsequently went on to inform the  mine’s workforce on Saturday morning about the provisional liquidation of the mine.

He told councillors that the BCL Mine issue was an emergency that had to be handled carefully. 

He refuted allegations by councillor for Leseding, Ms Phemelo Nthwane that information on the decision to close the mine was disclosed behind closed doors and at night to the BCL Mine management, but rather the information was disclosed openly with BMWU and other officials present.

He also responded to the opposition chief whip and councillor for Botshabelo Central, Mr Molefhe Molatlhegi who alleged that that Selebi Phikwe mayor, Mr Amogelang Mojuta failed to inform councillors about the visit of Cabinet sub-committee on Friday, noting that the mayor was also informed about the taskforce team’s visit to the mining town late afternoon on Friday.

“That is why we held the emergency meeting with BMWU, the mine management and other officials on Friday evening when we arrived and also with the mine’s workforce on Saturday morning. We are here today on Monday morning during this special full council meeting to inform councillors about the BCL Mine closure,” he said explaining that everything or communication regarding BCL Mine was done in an open manner.

He called on councillors to understand that in such situations of emergencies, decisions could be made rapidly and implemented with immediate effect.

He called on councillors to cooperate in dealing with the situation instead of pointing fingers and try to gain political mileage through the BCL Mine problem.

He explained that more than 4 000 workers’ jobs were on the edge which meant many families from across the country whose members were working at BCL Mine would be affected.

He explained that mining the mineral ore at BCL Mine was expensive while at the same time not making any profit. He said time had come for the mine to close down as anticipated before by the general citizenry and government is working around the clock to come up with plans to mitigate the situation. ENDS