26 Jul 2017

First National Bank, Botswana (FNBB) has handed over toilets built through the FNBB Foundation to Mmopane kgotla recently.

The banks industrial branch manager, Ms Phana Ntshingane said when they discovered that the budget for the toilets exceeded the amount they had donated, they went back to the foundation to ask for more.

Ms Ntshingane said they believed in partnering with the community to help them uplift their lives, hence they found it necessary to establish the FNBB Foundation.

Giving a brief history of the foundation, Ms Ntshingane said it was founded on 2001, and that in the very same year, the bank decided that every year one per cent of their annual profit would be used to help in community projects.

She noted that the foundation has spent over P40 million in community projects since its inception.

Giving an overview of the project, the Village Development Committee chairperson, Mr Kagiso Dintwe said after they failed to raise the needed funds to build toilets in the kgotla, they sought help from the public.

He said some residents of Mmopane, including the pastors and taxi association, gave them financial aid, but that it was still not enough to meet the budget. reqiurement of P115 000.

Mr Dintwe said while they were still sourcing funds, FNBB industrial branch came to their rescue.

He said the project coordinator, who is also the service advisor at the banks industrial branch, Ms Connie Bareki and her team announced that they had P50 000 they wanted to help the community of Mmopane with.

He said the P50 000 donation propelled them to go back to the drawing board and make a proper architectural plan of the toilets.

Mr Dintwe said unfortunately  the plan exceeded the money the foundation had offered them.

For his part, Mmopane councillor, Mr James Lekgetho said the building of the toilets was not the first project that the bank had carried out in their village.

He noted that the Mmopane Home Based Care had received a newly built office from the FNBB Foundation, industrial branch.

Mr Lekgetho said the new toilets would free them from the challenges they experienced during kgotla meetings.

“It was a worrisome situation every time when we had kgotla meetings and a visitor asked for a toilet,” said Mr Lekgetho, adding that they “could not even show them one.” 

Kgosi Simon Manthe commended the bank for the developments it financed in the village. 

He also praised them for the toilets, which were build at the cost of P115 000.

He said it was in line with President Lt Gen. Dr Seretse Khama Ian Khama’s five Ds and Vision 2036’s call for civil society organisations to partner with government in the national development process. ENDS