12 May 2022

Mmathethe/Molapowabojang MP, Dr Edwin Dikoloti has commended Panda group of companies for playing an active role in socio-economic development of the country.

Speaking during a familiarisation tour of the Panda Plant in Dipotsana, near Molapowabojang on Tuesday, the MP said he was interested in knowing the facility operations since it was a flagship project in his constituency.

 He pledged support to ensure the plant performed well.

He spoke about the symbiotic relationship of the plant and the community, saying Corporate Social Responsibility would positively impact the lives of the community.

Dr Dikoloti said he would like to see more of the company products being used in his constituency.

Panda manufactures a variety of paving bricks, stock bricks and semi-face bricks, as well as precast concrete products such as portal culverts, manholes, lintels and concrete kerbs among other items.

Dr Dikoloti said though the company could be faced with a myriad of challenges, such could be treated as a learning curve and transformed into opportunities.

He also commended the company for contributing significantly to employment creation in the country and ensuring that the economy thrived.

Taking the legislator and his entourage through the operations, Panda Southern regional manager, Mr Gregg Scully stated that Panda group had a staff compliment of 525 of which Dipotsana Plant employed 145 citizens. 

For Dipotsana Plant establishment, he said 35 were people in the locality, 60 from Lotlhakane East, 12 Lobatse, 18 Tshweneyagae and 10 from Kanye.

Mr Scully said Panda offered unique building solutions through quality concrete mantels and brick manufacturing.

He said the products were available for industrial and domestic applications and had contributed to big projects that included construction of Botswana Unified Revenue Service (BURS) buildings at Pioneer Border Post, Central Business District in Gaborone and a number of schools among others.

“We are proud to have supplied Botswana market over the years. The company provides a work environment that promotes safety, environmental sustainability, continuous learning and quality improvement,” he said.

Mr Scully said the Panda business started in 1986 in Francistown and expanded to Gaborone 15 years ago,  while Dipotsana plant started operations in 2009.

He also said Panda Quarry provided concrete stone, road stone and a dense grade aggregate called crusher run.

He said Panda donated bricks to build a toilet at the village clinic and helped Dipotsana Primary School with water. Residents also benefited from electricity as the company ferried electricity 14km from the power grid to the village during inception at a time when there was no electricity at the village.

Mr Scully said the Dipotsana factory had a production capacity of two million units a month, which equated to 45 000 square metres of building products supplied to the market. Ends