Parliament agrees to BIUST Phikwe campus, But�

Dithapelo Keorapetse | Friday March 17, 2017 16:36

BIUST has three colleges and at least 15 departments; the motion called for relocation of one department. MPs from both sides of the aisle supported the motion which was first negated by the Minister responsible for tertiary education before it was amended to address his and other ruling party MPs misgivings. No division was called when the question was put, implying that the support was unanimous.

There was, nonetheless, a subtle hesitancy by a few front benchers who were present in the House. The initial motion sought to request Government to relocate the department whereas the amended one requested it to consider relocating. 

After the idea of BIUST was finalised, the question of where it was going to be located became a big issue. A task force was appointed by President Festus Mogae, but the contents of its report were never made public. However, media reports were rife that Selebi-Phikwe was recommended as the appropriate host of the University.

It remains a mystery why Palapye was preferred over Phikwe by the Powers-that-be. However, Mogae himself was the MP for Palapye prior to his presidency and his successor, Ian Khama is from Serowe which is in close proximity with Palapye. So it could be that the two of them were self-interestedly biased.

Proponents of Phikwe as the host have always argued that there was a need to prepare the town for post Nickel and Copper mining. They contended that there was need to diversify the economy of the town and that the University could breathe an economic life into the town when mining operations stop in later years.

It was argued that there is plenty of water and electricity in Phikwe, there is infrastructure such as roads, public and private schools-from pre-schools to secondary, and that Phikwe, unlike Palapye, is a town which foreigners and other Batswana who would provide skilled personnel for BIUST, could reside without much problems. These were ignored by both Mogae and Khama.

The motion therefore called for the Government to consider the idea of multiple campuses for BIUST, something that is common with Universities across the world, whereby Universities have campuses located in various cities or towns. In the region, University of Swaziland and Namibia are good examples of more multiple campuses.

The University of Botswana (UB) has Okavango Research Institute (ORI) in Maun. ORI researches on conservation, wildlife and natural resources and it is situated in the area appropriate for the kind of studies.

BIUST Phikwe campus can therefore focus on mining and related disciplines such as mining engineering, chemical engineering, mechanical engineering, geology, metallurgy, instrumentation and many others. The BCL Mine could offer a good practical set up for these programme. Other industries envisaged for Phikwe could also benefit students of BIUST Phikwe campus.

The Government claims that it seeks to revitalise the economy of the town post-liquidation. It is also telling us that it is busy trying to get investors to reopen the Mine and resume operations. If the Mine can reopen, it would be even more appropriate to set up a school of mining campus of BIUST in Phikwe.

Negating the motion, the Minister of Tertiary Education, Research, Science and Technology argued that detaching and relocating the Department of Mining and Geological Engineering from BIUST would cost daunting logistical and operational difficulties. He reasoned that there would be a need for library, computers and other laboratories needed for the students.

He contended that these are shared resources or facilities by students and academics at BIUST and that it would require Government to rebuild these in Phikwe. He pointed to shared or common courses and interdisciplinary nature of some programmes across year levels as another stumbling block. However, after the amendment of the motion, the Minister didn’t lobby the ruling party to oppose the motion for obvious reasons.

The motion as amended, doesn’t put any pressure on the Government to implement it. They may keep on saying, “we will try implementation when we have money”. I guess that’s why there was not much opposition after the amendment sponsored by the ruling party. What is important is that Parliament has taken a decision after appreciation of the need to resuscitate the economy of Phikwe.

One MP who is an Assistant Minister, expressed worry that there is a tendency by the Executive not to implement Parliament resolutions and that there is a need for the idea as resolved by the House to be actualised. Implementing this motion is going to be difficult or next to impossible under this Government. The reluctance was apparent from influential Ministers who didn’t even bother to debate the motion. From the ruling party, only one deputy Minister and two backbench MPs openly agreed with the proposal.

Academics and support staff for the BIUST Phikwe campus will add to the economic activities of the town. Businesses supporting learning such as catering, stationery, book stores and many others would benefit from the campus. Transport services, private schools, small and medium businesses would get something from the campus.

Tourism in the SPEDU region could also be improved, especially by foreigners working or visiting the University. Local sport can benefit from well-resourced University teams. Many jobs can be created. The benefits of setting up the BIUST campus in Phikwe are many. It is important to think about the town and how its economy can be invigorated and or resuscitated after the closure of the Mine. It is important for the Government to act and desist from rhetoric. Phikwe needs a Marshall Plan of some sort to stay alive.

ORI wasn’t set up overnight in Maun by UB; it was planned over time. However, some plans can be fast-tracked because of their economic viability or value. BIUST Phikwe campus can be fast-tracked if there is political will.