10 Sep 2013

For many Batswana in rural areas, farming has always been a way of life. 

Farming was not only a cultural activity, but also a major contributor to the national economy. But everything changed when mines started opening in rural areas. The small village of Toteng is no exception. The village has lost able bodied young men who have abandoned farming for better paying jobs at the mines. 

Toteng is located 70km from Maun in north west Botswana. The village has always sought its livelihood and sustenance from the vibrant agriculture sector. But, with the discovery of copper and nickel, agriculture seems to have been relegated to the sidelines as villagers have abandoned their farms to search for jobs at the mines. 

When Boseto Mining Company announced the commencement of mining around Toteng, villagers had hopes that the mine will open doors for their children. They were hopeful for a better future and were eager to accept the opportunities with open hands. 

But Kgosi Kenatje Kandapaera of Toteng thinks different. He said the mine now sits on fertile arable and grazing land, a situation that has compounded the problem of lack of land in the area.

“We are already competing for land with wild animals. We are also grappling with foot and mouth disease, which has made our livestock valueless. When the mines came we abandoned our cattle posts to seek better jobs at the mines, but now there are no jobs,” he said. 

Kgosi Kandapaera added that the mining company has constructed housing units for the employees, dashing the residents’ hopes of benefitting by renting out their houses to the mine workers.

He added that too many people have settled in Toteng village in search of jobs, while those who have been laid off still remain in the village. “They are competing for the little available resources with the villagers and our people have been left disadvantaged,” he said.

Another resident Mr Cornelius Murangi said they were forced to lose their pastures and farms to make way for the mines. He added that residents will be forced to lose more land to the mine as it is expanding. 

“People are just loitering with nothing to do because their farms were taken from them. Plots that were earmarked for residents have been given to the mine to build housing units for its employees. The people are now crammed in one place,” he said.

The same sentiments were repeated by Village Development Committee Chairman Mr Asaria Tjitunga, who said the discovery of minerals around Toteng has adversely affected farming which used to be a source of jobs and income for residents.

 “People have lost their farms, boreholes and fields to the mine. They were compensated with money, but a lot of them are now lying idle in the village because they cannot get new land for farming,” he said. He explained that land is scarce in the area as residents have to share it with wild animals, which are now the country’s bread basket.

Mr Tjitunga said the land around Toteng has shrunk because the village is surrounded by a cattle buffer zone fence to the west and south, an FMD and buffalo fence to the north and the delta to the east. “So there is nowhere to go and this has contributed to declining farming activities in our village,” he said

A village youth, Ms Onewang Motsamai, said she had hoped to get a job from the mine, but she is still employed in the Ipelegeng program because the mining company has frozen recruitment, saying it has been affected by the economic meltdown. 

“We had hopes that the mine will employ us, but the company that is contracted to the mine brought its own labor.  They have also retrenched a lot of employees citing the economic meltdown, and the residents lost out because these people were renting out private houses from villagers,” he said.

Another youth Josana Hikuama said she has given up hope of ever getting employment and taking care of her family.  “In other villages the youth are the ones who take care of their families, but here its different. There is nowhere to work, and even the fields which were a source of food are gone,” she said. ENDS