Morupule Mine hands over refurbished Serowe Kgotla

BOTHO BAPUTAKI
Correspondent | Thursday October 4, 2012 00:00

 

He was speaking at the handover ceremony of Leobo la Kgotla in Serowe, at an event attended by President Ian Khama and his brothers.

Milton said the shelter was a gift premised on the mine's commitment to partnering with the community for the upliftment and development of the nation. The shelter was meant to continue the preservation of Setswana culture as enshrined by the Kgotla system of governance.

Milton said the kgotla is an establishment that the business world can learn a lot from and most importantly align to. 'This is where complex problems are resolved collectively, where decisions are made through a democratic process, where issues of development that affect the community are discussed to achieve social and economic progress.

'It is a place where discipline is restored in a fair and transparent process, where delivery is brought to the forefront and human dignity restored,' said Milton. He added that the coal mine has over the years endeavoured to partner in development with the communities. It has so far partnered with the tribal authority in Palapye to renovate the main Kgotla. Milton disclosed that in this year's financial budget, they have committed close to P4 million for their corporate social investment projects in the Serowe-Palapye area.

'In Palapye we refurbished the community hall and built a sporting facility comprising of netball, volleyball, lawn tennis and basketball pitches to promote healthier lifestyle in the communities,' he said. He stated that they donated over 28 bus shelters to the community of Palapye as well as provided other assistance, mostly to the schools in the area.  He said that over the years, Morupule mine has donated houses and assisted the underprivileged financially.

The gestures were made with the full appreciation that as a business, the mine's responsibility goes far beyond the stakeholders and employees. 'In fact one of our core values points out the need to promote care for the environment, employees and the community,' he said.

He explained they settled on the refurbishment of the shelter for Kgotla after considering all the requests for help from the Serowe community through Kgosi Sediegeng Kgamane and the Village Development Committee (VDC). 

The decision was taken because it was realised that the project will contribute to nation building, the preservation of culture and grooming of disciplined citizens. In addition Milton said they are confident that the refurbished leobo will increase the aesthetic value of the symbols that comprise the Ga Mmangwato Kgotla in Serowe, which in itself will be a source of pride for the nation and delight visitors with its beauty.

'This monument should inspire pride, justice and unity in our community,' he said. Milton stated that the materials that were used for the construction of the leobo where mostly sourced locally as a way of promoting and empowering local business and to promote job creation and the sharing of the wealth that a business like Morupule Coal Mine generates.