BIUST ready to set up in Selebi-Phikwe
Tapela Morapedi | Thursday March 23, 2017 16:50
Professor Davis Norris was in a delegation of a joint visit between BIUST and Business Botswana to appreciate how the town was shaping up after the Mine closure.
“There is a possibility of setting up a BIUST satellite campus in Selebi-Phikwe and this is driven by Government and as BIUST we are ready for that. We were already working with BCL and therefore setting up a satellite campus here will come naturally for us,” said Norris.
Professor Norris highlighted that the facilities and the environment for research and training of students are very conducive in Selebi Phikwe and therefore BIUST finds itself fitting very well to do their business in Selebi Phikwe.
He pointed out that Selebi Phikwe is not only suitable for engineering, noting that the discussions and the tours that they have had identified other avenues they can capitalise on.
“There are other areas that BIUST could play a very important role like areas of land degradation because of mineral deposits on the ground and waste water management. All these are within our research focus and therefore they fit very well with our research endeavours,” explained Norris.
The efforts follow the adoption of the Member of Parliament for Selebi-Phikwe West, Dithapelo Keorapetse’s motion requesting Government to relocate the University’s College of Engineering and Technology to Selebi-Phikwe.
Norris said that BIUST had an existing Memorandum of Understating (MOU) with BCL prior to liquidation to work together in the area of research.
BIUST was to conduct research for BCL to improve the mine’s processes and it had its students doing internships and practical modules at the Mine.
In addition, the partners were going to establish Botswana Mining Museum and Research Centre at BCL where the Mine had already allocated its decommissioned open-pit for the purpose.
The professor stressed that research, science, engineering and technology are the key drivers of economic activity in all developed countries.
The president of Business Botswana, Lekwalo Mosienyane challenged the leadership of Selebi-Phikwe to make sure that the town remains vibrant so as to attract investors. He said the leadership must maintain the roads and all necessary amenities that would complement a business case from investors.
Mosienyane pointed out strongly that investors would only consider setting up shop in Selebi-Phikwe if it looked attractive and profitable.
“Why should they go to Selebi Phikwe when it is more profitable in Kigali or Gaborone? It is important that clubs here should be activated and get sport activities happening because the facilities are here and get people from outside coming to Selebi Phikwe,” he said.
The president of Business Botswana said there are encouraging businesses to invest in Selebi -Phikwe, explaining that they have partnered with BIUST to take the lead. He expressed his gratitude to Parliament for adopting the motion that will give BIUST the green light to set up in Selebi Phikwe.
“We are enthused that there is a motion that was passed in Parliament that BIUST can actually invest in some of their activities in Selebi Phikwe. The motion finds us already on the ground with BIUST,” he said. Mosienyane said that they are doing an in-depth socio-economic study on how best to invest in the town.
“We have secured funding with the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and we are doing this jointly with the United Nation Development Plan (UNDP),” said Mosienyane.
He revealed that they have also delivered the report on the findings of a study they conducted on the closure of BCL Mine to the BCL liquidator. Mosienyane said the high level socio-economic study they conducted did not only look at BCL and Selebi-Phikwe, but looked at the impact of the Mine closure on the whole SPEDU region. Business Botswana expects the BCL liquidator, Nigel Dixon-Warren to study the report and share with Government the views of the business community on the Mine closure.
The civic leaders from both Selebi-Phikwe Town Council and the District Administration promised to heed the calls to ensure that Selebi-Phikwe is fit for investment, and further pledged to give all the necessary support to any initiative geared towards reviving the local economy.