18 May 2020

Botswana International University of Science and Technology (BIUST) in partnership with Local Enterprise Authority (LEA) have donated 1 000 liquid soaps and 600 bar soaps to various schools with children living with disabilities in Mochudi, Ramotswa and Otse.

 Some of the schools that benefitted from the donation, which is aimed to aid in the battle against the COVID-19 pandemic, are Motswedi Rehabilitation Centre, Mochudi Resource Centre for the Blind, Ramotswa School for the Deaf and Rankoromane School.

Handing over donations today at Pudulogong Rehabilitation and Development Centre, BIUST Director for Communications and Public Affairs, Mr Keoagile Rafifing said the university aimed to stimulate research, innovation and technology transfer. 

He said in responding to COVID-19 pandemic, BIUST had partnered with LEA to help government mitigate the spread of COVID-19.

They undertook projects such as the production of bar and liquid soaps, production of sanitisers, development of drone sprayers and development of dashboard for visualization of COVID-19 pandemic cases.
 
The products, Mr Rafifing said, were produced at BIUST laboratories and were inventions of university students and academic staff. 

He indicated that post COVID-19 pandemic; the university would be active towards economic diversification through research and innovation. 

Therefore, he said their efforts in mass production would go a long way in helping mitigate the spread of COVID-19 pandemic and positioning the products as prospective economic drivers post the pandemic. 

Mr Rafifing said among projects BIUST has endeavored to pursue post the pandemic were the production of sodium hypochlorite, bitumen, caustic soda, chlorine and other various waste energy projects. 

He thanked other partners such as Morupule Coal Mine and Botswana Defence Force (BDF) for their generous contributions in assisting the university to manufacture the products. 

Mr Rafifing said the bar soaps were a three-year project and had been fully tested to meet all clinical expectations and were safe to use. 

He also noted that currently, university students and staff were looking into making the bar soaps smell nice and encouraged Batswana to assist them with their indigenous knowledge for the country to tap into diversifying the economy to a knowledge based economy. 

“Botswana has a lot of raw materials and it is high time we tap into those and not depend on other countries,” he said. Mr Rafifing said some of their research is looking to use coal for tar and also extract diesel from the same tar.
 
LEA Head of Corporate Affairs and Market Access Ms Boikhutso Kgomanyane said so far over 10 000 of the products had been donated countrywide. 

She said their aim was to commercialise such initiatives for the country to export, instead of surviving from imports only. Ends