30 Mar 2017

The economy of Selebi Phikwe needs to be revitalised and turn the town into a metallurgical and industrial hub.
The mayor of Selebi Phikwe Mr Leonard Mojuta said during a benchmark visit by the town local economic development committee in Orapa on Tuesday.
Mr Mojuta said the objective of the visit was to learn how Orapa , Letlhakane and Damtshaa mines how they were contributing to the local economy.
He said it was critical to energise themselves and establish projects that could boost the economy of Selebi Phikwe.
Mr Mojuta said they needed to see the activities of SPEDU gaining momentum, noting that Phikwe was the only town surrounded with four dams.
The objective he said was to establish strategies that could be implemented to utilise those dams, adding that they wanted to see a lot of Batswana participating in the activities.
Mr Mojuta lobbied for support in activities that took place in Phikwe such as golf tournament,Phikwe marathon, and softball.
He cited that Debswana should not regard Phikwe as a town that did not need aid and support.
For his part, the senior support services manager, Mr Thatayaone Sithole said Debswana would leave an enduring and sustainable positive legacy in communities within which they operated.
Mr Sithole stated that the company would attain closure certificates from relevant authorities without conditions within which they operated.
He also noted that Debswana would make mine closure planning part of its operational philosophy and integrate mine closure planning in their strategic business plan.  
Mr Sithole further stated that land uses and community aspirations as derived from the community consultations led to sustainable projects including commercial livestock farming, development of drift fence, diamond mining museum and Kedia community trust among others.
The main aim of Orapa today he said was to make the town a great place to live and work with world class health facilities, a truly harmonious community and a habitable town for children.
Orapa he said was a closed town with 12 000 people, police station, Spar supermarket, Sefalana, Wimpy, petrol station, Game Park and airport.
Orapa Mine Hospital he said served as Boteti Referral Hospital with improved hospital service with approximately 75 000 outpatients and 25 000 inpatients per year.
Mr Sithole said all official radio stations were available, also there was a cinema primarily directed at the youth and was opened in 2013.
While Mr Israel Mpugwa, Orapa Today Boteti Tomorrow project Manager stated that in an effort to diversify the economic base of Boteti region from mining, Debswana through Orapa Letlhakane and Damtshaa Mines identified activities to drive the mine closure plan socio-economic component.
Boteti tomorrow he said was about positioning the sub-district as a hub of the district and dub it as the gateway to Makgadikgadi.
Hosting the first great diamond mine in Botswana, a museum he said would be developed to capture the artefacts of the critical period in the history of the nation.
Mr Mpugwa said the idea was to open Orapa town and shape the district when there were still many more years of mining.
Activities identified to diversify the economic base of Boteti he said included expansion of game park, establishing a business park, a mining museum and establishment of a mining technical college.
Mr Mpugwa stated that for successful delivery the business park, mining museum, and Orapa Technical College have been linked to the development of Orapa mine CUT 3 project. ENDS