16 Oct 2017

De Beers Botswana resident director and chief executive officer, Mr Neo Moroka has implored Orapa, Letlhakane and Damtshaa Mines (OLDM) retirees to identify viable projects to invest their packages on.

Mr Moroka said this during the 2017 OLDM 20 to 40 years long service awards held in Orapa October 13. He noted that many retirees had wasted their package, calling on those who were still young to begin planning for their future.

The reason why retirees had worked for long in Debswana, he said, was a clear demonstration  of alignment between their values and the values of the organisation.

Mr Moroka said he saw value in the high energy levels amongst employees as he toured the mine and all the support services in the mining area, stressing that it was important to be guided by values.

Debswana, he said, has good values such as “be passionate, show we care and pull together,” adding that the company delivered beyond expectation because its employees worked as a team.

The future of the country, he said, was shaped by the people working within Debswana.

“What the mind thinketh the mind can achieve,” he said.

Mr Moroka said success was dependent on passion and the product offered, adding that the product should satisfy the existing need.

Diamonds, he said, have shaped the economy of the country, saying the country has been successful because of prudent management of resources.

The consequence of that prudent management of resources, he said, was that Botswana moved from one of the poorest countries in the world to an upper middle income country.

Botswana, he said, was where it was because of diamonds, noting that diamonds were the largest contributor to GDP, government and export revenues.

The pursuit of sustainability for the company’s operation, he said, was the safety of people, assets and the environment. He added that safety started at an individual level and that it was essential to internalise it.

Mr Moroka said one of the pillars of Vision 2036, was “sustainable development,” and that a key goal of Vision 2036 was “prosperity for all.”

He said for “prosperity for all” to be achieved, Botswana should move from a upper middle income country to a higher level income.

The general manager of Orapa, Letlhakane and Damtshaa Mines, Mr Bakani Motlhabani commended the retirees and long service employees for marking such a milestone in their careers, saying it was evidence of a good work ethic and strong bonds of employer-employee relations.

The ceremony recognised 17 employees in the 20 years category, 34 employees in the 25 years category, 39 employees in the 30 years category, 14 employees in the 35 years category and three employees in the 40 years category making 107 dedicated individuals.

The event, he said, was a token of appreciation to acknowledge the collective efforts that continually add to the success of the company.

He added that it was a significant accomplishment worthy of recognition, their dedication and loyalty. He challenged the management team and him to continually look at improving employee relations and staff welfare as part of their attraction and retention strategies.

Mr Motlhabani said his focus for 2017 was an enhanced safety culture employee engagement.

He stated that in recognising that their dedication and loyalty were worthy of recognition beyond long service awards, management, he said had taken a decision to reintroduce spot awards as a way of appreciating good safety behaviour and good employee engagement.

One of the long service awards recipients, Ms Lahja Rasesa said Debswana had enabled them to achieve their dreams, hailing Debswana as a company that understood that a developed and healthy employee was a productive resource. ENDS