Dark skies return to BCL Mine
Friday, October 23, 2015
Trouble times: Workers at BCL are bearing the brunt of the blues
Seven years ago, BCL Mine executives gathered in Gaborone and handed government a cheque for approximately P30 million, being the first dividend paid after years of financial stress caused mainly by poor global base metal prices.
Montwedi Mphathi, the then general manager, could afford a smile on that occasion, having steered the mine through a trying period of operational losses, during which he became every unionist’s number one enemy.
That a single private law firm pocketed P6.5 million for just four cases, out of a total P11.1 million paid for 25 matters, reeks of a system that was not merely disorganised but open to abuse.Bayford has taken a welcome first step by telling the Public Accounts Committee the truth. Now he must act decisively to ensure it never happens again and that any money lost to wrongdoing is recovered.The figures are staggering. Whilst ordinary Batswana...