06 Mar 2022

Government’s intentions to setup a national storage and conditioning facility for radioactive material around Pilikwe are still alive.

Minister of Tertiary Education, Research Science and Technology, Dr Douglas Letsholathebe told the Pilikwe village leadership in a meeting recently, that due to financial constraints, as well as issues of compliance to international standards regarding the location and distance of the facility from the community, government had to halt the project.

The minister said radioactive storage facilities currently available around the country such as the one at Sir Ketumile Masire Teaching Hospital would continue to be utilised until government resolved the facility location compliance issues and availed funds for the project to be implemented.

Dr Letsholathebe explained that the funds that were budgeted for the project were channeled towards combating the COVID-19 pandemic, and that the distance of the initial plot was less than five km from the village, against the international standard of more over five km.

He explained that as a member of the international community, Botswana was bound to take care of all radioactive materials, hence government found it imperative to set up such storage facilities to ensure safety and security of radioactive sources so that they did not affect the public and the environment.    

Dr Letsholathebe noted that in 2007, government embarked on an exercise to identify a site where the facility could be constructed.

He said the criteria was to have a site close to users of nuclear technology, accessible, and close to amenities such as tarred roads, water and electricity, as such Pilikwe was identified.

He said officers met with village authorities, a piece of land was identified, an application made to Sefhare Sub-land Board and a 50-year lease plot was allocated in November 2012.

Dr Letsholathebe noted that the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) was conducted at a tune of P1.2 million, which also covered consultation with Pilikwe residents.

He said the EIA was subsequently approved by Department of Environmental Affairs, but the community raised objections.

He noted that there was an emergence of the ‘Concerned Group’ whose members felt they were not consulted accordingly.

He noted that the group raised an objection on the allocation of land for the project around Pilikwe, which resulted in the construction phase being halted by the High Court in May 2015.

To resolve the project impasse, Dr Letsholathebe said a joint task force comprising senior government officials and Pilikwe residents was formed in June 2015 and during negotiations, a piece of land inside the Bamangwato Development Association (BDA) cattle ranch near Radisele was conditionally offered by Pilikwe as an alternative site for the facility.

The minister further noted that demands by Pilikwe community called on government to resolve BDA farm ownership and subsequently transfer all BDA assets to the newly established Pilikwe Development Association and to fence the whole farm.

Furthermore, they demanded for the government to build staff houses in Pilikwe as a strategic boost to the village economic activities and also source some of the project building materials within the environs of Pilikwe such that Village Development committee (VDC) could also benefit from the project spin-offs.

Meanwhile, at a recent meeting at Pilikwe kgotla, the village leadership held on to earlier demands. ENDS