18 Jan 2018

Minister of Infrastructure and Housing Development, Mr Nonofo Molefhi has called on Selebi Phikwe residents to play a role in the resuscitation of the town’s economy.

Addressing a kgotla meeting at Botshabelo, Mr Molefhi, who is also Member of Parliament for Selebi Phikwe East, said since BCL Mine, which was the economic backbone of the town and region closed down, the whole area had faced numerous challenges.

He said it was time for the residents to move on after the closure of the mine, which took place in 2016.

Besides the loss of jobs, he said privately-owned businesses and parastatal organisations such as Botswana Power Cooperation, Water Utilities among other companies were also hit by the closure.

He indicated that Selebi Phikwe should diversify business operations to reduce reliance on the mining sector so as to keep the economy going.

Therefore, he urged the residents to be innovative and come up sustainable projects that would make Selebi Phikwe rise again.

Currently, he said  Botswana’s main income generating sectors after mining were wildlife and tourism and sale of beef to the European market.

Thus, he said more was needed to be done to broaden income generating sectors in the economy.

He further told the residents that an aircraft manufacturing plant and associated projects in Selebi Phikwe that would be set up by Bride Star Aviation project, would take place as planned.

He explained that some associated works such as the Environmental Impact Assessment of the area where the project would be set up and other logistics needed to take place first before the commencement of the construction project.

He said the construction and actual operation of the plant would not take place overnight but it might take up to three years for everything to be put in place.

In his welcome remarks, Kgosi Olebogeng Mojuta of Botshabelo Customary Court expressed concern that unemployment rate in Selebi Phikwe was high especially among the youth.

However, she encouraged residents to utilise programmes availed by government such as  the Youth Development Fund and Poverty Eradication Programme,  among others to empower themselves. ENDS