Botswana has untapped potential � Gale
Lebogang Mosikare | Friday January 9, 2015 15:35
Speaking to BusinessWeek in an interview before his departure to the United Kingdom, Gale said coal should be used to diversify the economy and create employment opportunities for Batswana.
“Botswana has a lot of coal deposits that can be used as a source of energy. The country should harness this coal and become an exporter of coal to other countries, which are currently experiencing power outages.
The coal should also be used locally since the country currently imports electricity from its neighbours,” said Gale, who is a chemical engineer by profession.
The mining expert advised Botswana to tap into its vast water resources. He said for an economy to develop the country, there should be efficient water supply that would be used to feed industries found in the country.
He added that abundance of water that is found mainly in the northern part of the country should be conveyed to other parts of the country that do not have sufficient water supply. Gale also advised Batswana to venture into commercial farming and do away with the old way of engaging in farming for subsistence purposes.
On other issues Gale said the country imports a lot of services and equipment, especially mining equipment from other countries, which he noted was not sustainable in the long run. “We should encourage companies to set up businesses here in order to employ locals.
They should manufacture their products here. This will directly stimulate the local economy since a lot of minerals are being discovered throughout the country,” he said. Gale added that Botswana should invest heavily in education especially in scarce skills courses.
“The country should strive to produce a workforce that can compete favourably with anybody in the world. I personally would like to see our mines here being managed by local people,” he said.
Touching on labour issues, Gale said when he started his journey at OLDM the relationship between the mine management and union was is shambles. “There was a lot of mistrust and polarisation between the mine management and the union.
I developed an open door policy between the two parties, and listened to the union’s grievances because I discovered that they sometimes see things in a positive way, which management may not understand. These unresolved grievances were affecting productivity,” he said.
Gale noted that he would leave the mine a happy man because the unions and mine management have a healthy relationship. “We have managed to negotiate a wage deal with the unions that started in 2011 and will end in 2016,” he said, adding that mining was also negatively affected by the global economic downturn.
He explained that after extensive negotiations with the union, some workers had volunteered to leave their jobs.
Gale concluded that he would not be lost to the mining industry, because he is now a consultant.