28 Apr 2019

Member of Parliament for Boteti East, Mr Sethomo Lelatisitswe has complained that Debswana mines have put pressure on developments in Letlhakane.

Mr Lelatisitswe made the remark during a Orapa Letlhakane and Damtshaa mines business update by the general manager, Mr Bakani Motlhabani recently.

He stated that roads had high traffic flow because of buses from Debswana mines transporting employees day and night. He said Debswana management should intervene to address traffic congestion in the village. Roads in Letlhakane, he said, were worn out, adding that there were no facilities such as bus bays that Debswana, as a good corporate citizen, could build.

Mr Lelatisitswe noted that Debswana employees lived in Letlhakane, but that staff buses could not go to new sites where other employees resided due to poor roads. 

The legislator also complained about acute water shortage in Letlhakane, saying it was disheartening to see Debswana employees going to work without a proper bath. He added that the  company should be able to install a water reservoir for the community.

He further expressed concern that there was poor communication between the mine and the community. He said the partnership between Debswana and government had existence for a long time, but that information sharing remained a challenge. Physical planners working for government, he said, should get information from Debswana, adding that a village such as Letlhakane should not be operating a dumpsite but a landfill.

He said Debswana’s corporate social investment budget was too low, adding that the company should have a budget focused on addressing community grievances such as water shortage.

He said the OLDM liaison officer had failed to give information on Orapa Today, Boteti Tomorrow projects. He urged them to have an open policy with communities within which the mines operated.
Expansion of the Orapa wildlife park, he said, should be open to the businesses in the hospitality sector in Letlhakane.  For his part, Mr Motlhabani said OLDM was prepared to upgrade water reticulation infrastructure in Letlhakane.  He noted that severe water shortage had plagued Letlhakane recently, and that OLDM collaborated with Water Utilities Corporation to supply the village with water. He said arrangements had been made to connect a mine water line to the village reticulation network.

He, however, said demand for water had grown such that the line was kept open to water the village since December 2018 to February this year. Mr Motlhabani further said OLDM had reduced the number of expatriates, noting that they had one expatriate who had since been replaced. He added that OLDM business partners had 3 626 employees with 2 721 female citizens, 856 male citizens and 49 male expatriates.

Mr Motlhabani also noted that there were services that the mine was providing in the sub-district such as health services, saying their commitment to the community was access to health care.

Members of the community, he added, sought medical assistance from the mine hospital due to lack of medication and drugs in government facilities.

He also noted that Letlhakane Primary Hospital was congested and that there was a spillover that sought assistance from Orapa. OLDM, he said, had decided to build a maternity wing for Letlhakane Primary Hospital, which would cost P5 million. He said 2 235 patients from the sub-district were admitted in Orapa. He noted that their corporate social investment (CSI) budget was P3.7 million. ENDS