Mupane employees face uncertainty
Chakalisa Dube | Monday April 22, 2024 06:00
Mupane is owned by Hawks Mining a wholly citizen-owned firm. Hawks acquired the mine in 2022 at a nominal fee. Last month operations at the mine were brought to a halt owing to financial challenges and close to 200 employees were sent home. Sub-contractors abandoned the work site due to unpaid services. Both electricity and water supply to the plant have been disconnected due to defaulted payments by the mine.
This week, the Botswana Mine Workers Union (BMWU) expressed frustrations about the growing level of uncertainty at mine.
“We recently met senior officials from the mine, and they articulated their problems. They indicated that unless a good Samaritan comes on board and bail out the mine or they succeed in their efforts to acquire a loan to recapitalise operations, the facility mine will remain closed. It is a very frustrating situation for employees who are at home,” BMWU secretary general Mbiganyi Gaekgotswe told Mmegi this week.
Gaekgotswe added that the skeletal staff that was deployed at the mine has also stopped working.
“ Skeletal employees were working in a facility that does not have electricity. Following engagements with the mine management it was resolved that they should stop because their safety was no longer guaranteed.”
Gaekgotswe added that the union hinted retrenchments, but talks could not progress any further because the mine does not have the money to pay retrenchment packages.
“During our meeting (with the management) it also emerged that the mine has notified the commissioner of labour about intentions to retrench. We are waiting for response from the commissioner, but we still maintain that retrenchments cannot be initiated while the mine does not have funds to pay packages,” he said.
The union has also sought the intervention of the Minister of Minerals and Energy, Lefoko Moagi but Gaekgotswe said that they are yet to get a response. In the main, the union wrote to the minister pleading with the government to acquire shares from the mine through its parastatal, Mineral Development Company Botswana (MDCB), with a view of saving jobs.
Meanwhile, the general manager for the mine, Koketso Jackson acknowledged that the mine has been hit by severe cashflow problems. He however, told Mmegi that he is very optimistic that operations will resume soon.
“ We are trying our best to address our cashflow problems. We are in the process of acquiring a loan in a bid to reopen the mine. The process of acquiring the loan is at an advanced stage. Our loan application has gone through most of the key process of acquiring a loan,” he said.
Jackson was non-committal when asked to give a timeline relating to the anticipated date for reopening the mine.
“ Our hope is that the loan will be approved soon to pave way for the reopening of the mine. But i want to emphasise that operations will certainly not resume this month,” he said.
Should Mupane management fail to secure funds to resume operations, the development will ultimately lead to the closure of the mine. This would be a massive blow to the economy of Francistown and surrounding areas. The city is still struggling to shrug off the challenges that were brought by the closure of Tati Nickel Mining Company (TNMC) in October 2016, which led to massive job losses. Over 5000 people directly and indirectly lost their jobs when TNMC was liquidated after failing to fulfill obligations to creditors. Several businesses that serviced the mine also closed.
Cashflow problems at Mupane coincides with a time in which gold is doing well in the global market. Early March, gold prices per ounce were at around P30 000 — then a record high. Since then, the prices have been on an upward trajectory. On Monday the price of gold per ounce had slightly surpassed P32 000.