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2022: Selebi-Phikwe’s new dawn?

Looking into the future: Phikwe’s economic prospects are at their brightest point since BCL’s closure PIC: THALEFANG CHARLES
Looking into the future: Phikwe’s economic prospects are at their brightest point since BCL’s closure PIC: THALEFANG CHARLES

In October 2016, the then president of Botswana, Seretse Khama Ian Khama, removed Kitso Mokaila as the Minister of Minerals, Water and Energy Resources and replaced him with Sadique Kebonang.

A few days later BCL Mine, which was the lifeblood of the town I grew up in called Selebi-Phikwe, was closed.

At least 5,000 direct jobs disappeared, many more indirect jobs suffered, companies closed down, unemployment skyrocketed, suicides were reported in large numbers and general gloom and doom covered the town.

Editor's Comment
Child protection needs more than prevailing laws

The rise in defilement and missing persons cases, particularly over the recent festive period, points not merely to a failure of policing, but to a profound and widespread societal crisis. Whilst the Police chief’s plea is rightly directed at parents, the root of this emergency runs deeper, demanding a collective response from every corner of our community. Marathe’s observations paint a picture of neglect with children left alone for...

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