24 Mar 2025

Tati Nickel Mine will open by May.

Francistown Mayor Mr Gaone Majere stated in a recent kgotla meeting at Tshwaragano ward that investors had already been given the license and land evaluation had commenced.

Tati Nickel Mine, which has been non-operational for years after shutting down, is set to operate for the next ten years.

Mr Majere stated that since a lot of organisations had been shut down in Francistown, being Botswana Meat Commission and other mines leaving many residents jobless, the government was hard at work working towards re-opening them so as to reduce the unemployment rate in the second city.

“The mine is expected to hire more than 400 people from Francistown and other neighbouring villages,” he added. He further stated that emphasis with Tati Nickel Mine was to prioritise acquiring services such as catering and security locally as well as awarding tenders to the people of Francistown, thus bringing developments and boosting employment within Francistown.

Furthermore, Mr Majere commended the residents of Tshwaragano Ward for their votes in last year’s elections. He told them that Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) promises might take time because “we are working on the budget left by the previous ruling party, so we cannot swiftly alter the budget as it is tight, but still we are going to accommodate some changes to bring about developments”, he said.

Moreover, Francistown District Health Management Team head of public health, Dr Gotsileene Monamodi stated that two more locally imported cases of malaria had been registered with his office.

He said that the cases were locally imported from the Okavango and Ngami regions.

Dr Monamodi said the cause of the increase in the number of cases was due to the frequent movement of people who visited affected places, and that as long as there was movement, cases were expected to increase.

“Also due to the heavy rains we experienced and the frequent movement of cross-border vehicles passing through Francistown, new cases are to be expected.

Dr Monamodi advised that those who frequented malaria infested places should, upon their return, visit health facilities for screening. ENDS