Mmegi

Gov't places P700m bet on Minergy

Troubled: Minergy’s Masama Mine has experienced operating challenges in recent times 
PIC: PHATSIMO KAPENG
Troubled: Minergy’s Masama Mine has experienced operating challenges in recent times PIC: PHATSIMO KAPENG

Whilst international coal market prices remain constrained, government has chosen to swim against the tide by converting its P700 million debt into equity in the troubled local colliery, Minergy Ltd.

Government has chosen to put skin in the troubled game, opting to convert its debt to Minergy into an equity stake that would make government a shareholder through its mining investment agency, the Minerals Development Company Botswana (MDCB).

Currently, Minergy owes government a total of P716 million held through convertible quasi debt instruments between two parastatals being MDCB and the Botswana Development Corporation (BDC). Both interests are the result of loan advances over time to Minergy Coal for operations.

Editor's Comment
A promising step for public schools, but...

For too long, the state of many public schools has been a source of shame. We have all seen the pictures and heard the stories of broken windows, unreliable water and electricity, topped by classrooms that are not fit for proper learning. The establishment of the Education Infrastructure and Management Company Ltd (EIMC) signals that authorities are finally ready to take this problem seriously. We must commend the government for this initiative....

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