Morupule land dispute to cause P200m per month losses

A few farmers have rejected compensation from Morupule Coal Mine
A few farmers have rejected compensation from Morupule Coal Mine

Morupule Coal Mine (MCM) says its deadlock with farmers and the Ngwato Land Board (NLB) over compensation values for land on its new mining licence area will result in losses of over P200 million per month.

MCM is locked in a dispute with six of the 166 farmers who hold land rights to the area that the company intends to build a new 1.35 million tonnes per annum coal mine to feed into the planned 300MW power station at Morupule B (Unit 5&6).

 In a blistering statement, in which the company accused the NLB of unjustifiably inflating land prices, MCM said allowing compensation to be set at such extortionate levels sets a dangerous precedent for future projects that are, like Morupule B, necessary for Botswana’s economic development.

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The Boko-led administration has to tread carefully

‘When you make peace withyourself, you make peace with the world’- Maha GhosanandaThis may come at a huge cost if not handled properly. What started off on Labour Day in Letlhakane this year, where Boko was in attendance when the militant lawyer-cum-trade unionist, Robert Rabasimane rebutted the President’s address in defence of the trade union has seemingly spiralled out of control. The issue is now creating a cat-and-mouse type of a...

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