Kenewendo vows greater citizen impact in mining
Mbongeni Mguni | Wednesday September 2, 2026 06:00
Minerals and Energy minister, Bogolo Kenewendo, made the revelation at Morupule Coal Mine last week, when engaging with small businesses participating in the mine’s Citizen Economic Empowerment Programme (CEEP).
The colliery has thus far spent P1.34 billion under CEEP, creating 2,550 jobs, with the majority of these in Palapye.
Kenewendo said President Duma Boko was championing a change in the mining industry, with a focus beyond tonnage and into citizen impact, and the broader ecosystems around these operations.
“We have explained what we expect when you’re holding a licence and when you don’t do that, we have started taking our prospecting licences, and soon it will be mining licences,” she said. “We want an ecosystem and to see that indeed you are doing as we expect. “If you are not working with the village and contributing to developments, these are steps we can take. “We have written show-cause letters, and we will take what’s ours if we see that we are not working well together.”
The minister said regulations were being finalised that would introduce requirements for greater local beneficiation and local content across minerals value and supply chains.
“The days of measuring a mining operation's contribution purely by tonnage or royalties are ending. “This is about the ecosystem that the mines are creating. “What we are hoping to see from mines is that you hire people, not just for the mine, but encourage businesses where the mine is, also to see those businesses and the mine helping schools, hospitals and other SMEs that are in that location. “The President has said he wants industrialists born out of the mining industry and that is what we intend to do.”
Kenewendo said citizen participation in mining was not a corporate social responsibility line item but rather a government policy written into the National Development Plan and the Botswana Economic Transformation Programme. She added that citizen impact was the clearest measure of whether a mining licence was delivering for the country.
Morupule Coal Mine CEO, Edwin Elias, described the CEEP initiative as core to the company’s operations, adding that efforts had been made to scale and support the businesses involved.
“We are honest about the fact that this journey has not been without its challenges,” he said. “Citizen businesses face real constraints in accessing capital, in navigating export and regulatory requirements, in scaling beyond a single contract. “That is precisely why our CEEP has evolved beyond procurement alone, into structured capacity building, mentorship, and now, into direct engagement with government and regional trade frameworks such as the African Continental Free Trade Area.”
Representatives of companies engaged in the CEEP initiative lauded Morupule Coal Mine and partners such as commercial banks for their support in helping them sustain and expand their operations.