02 Jun 2022

Graduates have been urged to retool to make themselves relevant to employers’ needs. 

Debswana’s social performance manager, Ms Elsie Mvimi gave the advice during a virtual Mabutsane sub-council session on Wednesday.

She said self-retooling would  put them in a favourable position when employment opportunities arose. She therefore urged graduates to be alert to the labour market requirements.

She said Debswana, like any other employer, conducted recruitment according to the guidelines of the Labour Act, therefore could not be biased towards residents of villages in the environs of its mines.

“The only advantage that could be enjoyed due to proximity to the mines is that if there are any employment openings, the residents would likely get the news first,” she said.

Ms Mvimi also promised councillors that they would encourage companies contracted to the Jwaneng mine to do corporate social investment (CSI), especially in villages around Jwaneng, as a way of giving back to the community.

She said Debswana Jwaneng mine was already active as it had assisted areas such as Kaduwe and Mahotshwane with water projects.

“Our ability to assist as a company depends on the availability of funds. Partnering with government for big projects is food for thought. 

We have already done so on big projects such as the Tirelo Motseonageng memorial clinic in Maboane; where we partnered with the Ministry of Heath, as well as the Mahotshwane water project, where we partnered with the Water Utilities Corporation,” she said.

Ms Mvimi promised to take up some of the requests with the relevant persons, after most councillors requested that the Debswana Jwaneng mine give priority to residents of villages surrounding Jwaneng if there was a need for any additional labour force, for their planned underground mining project.

They reasoned that this would  be in line with the company’s CSI initiative as provision of employment was equal to empowering people.

Sub-council chairperson, Mr Kgopolo Ramosesane had pleaded that contractor companies should also make it a habit of assisting socially, rather than leave that to Debswana.

He also decried shortage of water as Sese, indicating that the situation should be looked at with a unique eye by Debswana as the village was established mostly by people who moved to create space for Jwaneng mine.

On other issues, the councillors complained about the poor state of roads in the sub-district, most of which are gravel, as well as poor conformity, by the council, to the maintenance cycle of the roads, such as re-gravelling and spot improvement.

Notable among the roads was the Jwaneng-Maokane road, which is the busiest due to the size of Maokane village. ends