Hopes shattered as TNMC caves in
Pini Bothoko | Friday October 14, 2016 17:01
For years, the existence of TNMC’s two mines, Phoenix and Selkirk, raised people’s hopes in the area that perhaps things would turn out for the better in future. Phoenix closed in December 2015, but plans were advanced for the imminent reopening of Selkirk.
With the weekend announcement, those hopes have fizzled out.
Reacting to the mine closure, the Francistown mayor, Sylvia Muzila said the closure is a wake up call for all to join hands and come up with new strategies that can save the city’s economy.
As TNMC is located on the outskirts of the city, its +/-700 employees resided in Francistown and commuted to their workplace daily.
Muzila said the mines provided a high-income bracket, which elevated their buying power and boosted the economy of the city. She stated that the closure is already impacting on the city’s economy negatively as Francistown had a vision of attracting investors through the mines.
“This dream shattered when the mines closed down. This challenges us to diversify and come up with better ways of saving the city’s economy,” Muzila said.
She said the city’s unemployment rate has increased since hundreds of people were laid off.
Muzila said the closure has had a huge negative impact on businesses and individuals who took advantage of the mines.
“The closure will impact negatively on people’s assets as they might put them for sale or rental hence forcing property markets to drop. This will also affect us as the council because we will be forced to reduce our rates,” Muzila said.
She added: “When the property market drops, it will surely affect the city’s economy”.
She said through their Francistown Investment Forum , the local authority is busy fast-tracking its investment drive to attract quality investors into the city.
“We are calling for investors who are into manufacturing to set up factories here. This sector is labour intensive and as such it will create more openings and more possibilities for locals,” Muzila said.
Former Business Botswana (when it was still Botswana Confederation of Commerce Industry and Manpower)president, Iqbal Ibrahim, a former mayor of the city, said the impact of the closure was huge and needed instant remedy.
He said the closure has left the ‘city that thrives on commerce’ on its knees.
Ibrahim stated that agriculture has the potential to save Francistown since the city has a lot of water. He advised the city leadership to consider setting up an agricultural hub.
“We have Shashe and Ntimbale Dams as well as a number of rivers in our periphery that could be used to supply water to those farms,” he said.
He added: “The time has come for us to consider setting up agro-based industries where a lot of farmers could benefit, plough various produce and supply it across the country. With this, we can feed the nation and improve the country’s food security”.
He said that although mining has overtaken agriculture as the national revenue earner, a good number of Batswana relied on it (agriculture) as in the past.
He noted that Francistown should strive to form partnerships with foreign investors and have land available so that they (investors) could set up factories that can absorb the locals.
“The city currently needs professional advice on how best it can improve its economy. We need business advisors, financial advisors, mining experts to mention but a few who can assist us to improve the city’s crippling economy,” Ibrahim said.
He also said that the city can also consider matching up with Zambia as they are the largest suppliers of copper in the region, and they may advise on how best Botswana can improve the mine’s life span.
Ibrahim said Francistown community should not rest on its laurels, but as a matter of urgency join hands to save the city’s economy before the situation gets worse.
“This will soon impact badly on our economy because not only mineworkers lost jobs, but other people who were employed by the mines. People like gardeners, housemaids, supply companies to mention but a few, also lost their jobs,” Ibrahim said.
He stated that the mines brought business opportunities and some entities that had set up here targeting the mines and mineworkers might take their business elsewhere because of the reduced buying power and market.