27 Sep 2022

Lucara Mine has been implored to empower local suppliers.

Speaking during a tour of the diamond mine recently, the Assistant Minister of Trade and Industry, Ms Beauty Manake, urged the management to have programmes that could develop suppliers and to avoid reliance on foreign companies.

She commended Lucara for its citizen economic empowerment initiative, but said there were areas that could be improved.

The assistant minister also challenged the mine management to identify services that were not available in the community then capacitate residents to provide such.

She gave the example of having a slaughter slab in areas such as Khumaga, which were far from abattoirs.

Ms Manake also said the Selebi-Phikwe Entreprenual Development Unit (SPEDU) region could provide services and products consumed in the mine and the Boteti region.

For her part, Ms Pauline Gagoitseope, the Citizen Entrepreneurial Agency regional manager, said there was need for re-alignment and regrouping to achieve the agency’s mandate of entrepreneurship, citizen economic empowerment and development.

She said coordination and alignment was critical for the empowerment initiative.

For his part, Local Enterprise Authority chief executive officer, Dr Racious Moatshe urged Lucara management to find out what went behind the scenes in terms of bidder, who they were employing and how they were expanding their scope.

The operational readiness manager, Mr Leornard Marumo stated that 100 per cent citizen owned companies engaged by the mine were at nine per cent.

He said majority citizen owned companies made two per cent. He noted that 85 per cent of the earnings went outside the country.

He also noted that UMS and Kalcon were awarded the highest tenders.

He said UMS was sinking shafts and that it took the bulk of the capital.

Mr Marumo said Kalcon was doing civil works in preparation shaft sinking.

He noted that although they were Botswana registered, they were foreign owned.

He said their commitment was to ensure that local contractors, especially upcoming ones, were empowered.

For her part, procurement manager, Ms Pearl Mapini, said they had 100 per cent citizen owned companies supplying the mine with fuel and some performing blasting services.

She also said they collaborated with the United Nations Development Programme to develop local suppliers based in Letlhakane.ENDS