BCL takeover deal rekindles hope in Matsiloje
Lebogang Mosikare | Friday February 17, 2017 11:19
There are no signs that the rest of the world is celebrating Valentine’s Day – a day in which people across the globe show appreciation for their loved ones, as well as those they secretly admire.
However in this tiny village located about 50 kilometres east of Francistown, people are busy with their daily chores.
Buoyed by the recent heavy down pours, most villagers are preparing to go to the fields to plough while those who planted earlier are going to their fields to guard baboons that are usually a menace to farmers.
A sombre mood is palpable in the air in Matsiloje, a village hit hard by the closure of BCL Ltd and its various subsidiaries in October last year.
BCL Ltd wholly owns BCL Mine, BCL Investments and an 85% stake in Tati Nickel Mining Company (TNMC). TNMC and its two mines, Phoenix and Selkirk were the economic pillars of the village. Selkirk, which closed down in 2002 was due for reopening, after Phoenix, which commissioned in 1995, shut down in December 2015. The provisional liquidation of BCL Ltd put an end to those plans, as well as the millions of Pula being spent on keeping the operations going in preparation for Selkirk’s return.
TNMC and the companies it sub-contracted, employed villagers from Matsiloje especially the youth, in significant numbers.
The residents of Matsiloje arguably have reason to look dejected. They have battled through rough seas on three occasions in the past because of the Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD). On each occasion, government culled their cattle to control the disease’ spread impacting negatively on the villager where many depend on cattle farming and ploughing to earn a living.
TNMC’s closure was another nail in the coffin.
Besides direct employment, villages in the hinterlands of TNMC’s operations benefited a lot from the Mine’s corporate social responsibility programme and have been feeling the pinch since the closure.
TNMC funded youth from Matsiloje and other villages to start businesses while also building houses for the destitute, donating computers to schools and giving money to Village Development Committees (VDC’S) in the hinterlands.
Although all donations were warmly welcomed, residents of Matsiloje, especially elders, will especially remember TNMC for hiring a doctor who was then posted to the village clinic to attend to their various medical needs.
The posting of the doctor to Matsiloje also benefited patients from villages around the Mine’s operations as they cut costs of travelling to Francistown for medical reasons.
When Mmegi visited the village this week, the news crew found some unemployed youth gathered at some kiosks opposite the popular Box Depot, which is owned by former Matsiloje councillor, Simon Lephalo.
During Mmegi’s interactions with some youth of this North East District (NED) village, it became clear that most of them were not aware that there was an investor who had shown interest in buying TNMC’s parent company BCL Ltd.
The anticipated cumulative effect of the deal means that TNMC will start operating again since its Selkirk operation is sitting on good quality grades of ore.
News that a new investor is in negotiations with the government with a view to opening TNMC has offered the residents a new glimmer of hope.
The villagers literally scrambled to read an article entitled “Take over deal emerges for BCL” that appeared in Mmegi last week.
The article appeared to sooth fears that TNMC would not operate again in the near future.
One unemployed youth, Motlagomang Motlhatlhedi, said if the mine could open again in future, it would be good news for the village and country at large.
She said that should TNMC open in future, it must make sure that it employs as many youth as possible from Matsiloje to stem the scourge of unemployment that has hit the village very hard.
Motlhatlhedi said that it is disheartening to see most youth in Matsiloje even those who passed their Form Five with good marks, being forced to seek employment under the Ipelegeng programme.
Perhaps borrowing from the words of US President Donald Trump’s ‘America first policy’ Motlhatlhedi said that although she is very much aware that every Motswana shall be hired on merit irrespective of where they come from in the country, her wish is to see Selkirk hiring more people from Matsiloje and villages in the vicinity of the Mine.
“My wish is to see the prospective owner doing and even surpassing what TNMC did for us. We appreciate what TNMC did for us especially by providing us with a doctor. This helped a lot to reduce queues at our clinic. We will always be grateful for that.”
Another youth, Thato Moraloki is of the view that the new investor who wants to buy the mine should not employ foreigners for jobs that can be done by Batswana.
“TNMC’s main undoing was that it hired a lot of Zimbabweans in jobs that could be done by Batswana. Batswana should be given first priority when it comes to hiring in any industry. Hiring of foreigners should only be done if there is a skills deficit in the country,” said Moraloki, a flicker of hope crossing his face.
However, like a doubting Biblical Thomas, Moraloki said he would only be very happy if he sees TNMC in operation again and not just reading about the development in the newspapers.
For septuagenarian, Gabaatlhole Segopolo, the medical service and ambulance that TNMC provided for Matsiloje will always be etched in his and fellow villagers’ minds.
Segopolo’s wish is to see the deal between government and the new investor coming to fruition.
“The queues that we used to experience at our local clinic have come back to haunt us since the closure of TNMC,” he said. The chairperson of Matsiloje Village Development Committee (VDC) Joel Mpetsane said that although he has not heard about the possible take over of TNMC by a new investor, it would be a welcome development.
“We would always put our demands before the new investor that are geared towards developing our village just like in the past. Although we were not addressed when TNMC closed, we hope that the new investor would surpass the great job that TNMC did to our village through its corporate social responsibility initiative. I am however, of the view that people should be hired at the Mine according to their capabilities and qualifications and not because of where they come from.”