Francistown, a city of shattered dreams

Better days: Operations at Tati Nickel's Phoenix Mine during its operational days
Better days: Operations at Tati Nickel's Phoenix Mine during its operational days

FRANCISTOWN: Francistown city mayor Sylvia Muzila’s worries about the collapse of the mining sector and the shooting unemployment rate are well documented.

In particular, the recent abrupt closure of the Tati Nickel Mining Company (TNMC)’s Phoenix Mine, which was placed under provisional liquidation as part of the BCL Group, came as the final blow.

It’s true that the unexpected closure of the mine, which was the main anchor of the city’s economy, caught many people and businesses off guard including Muzila. The city had bigger dreams of turning things around and even diversifying the economy.

Editor's Comment
The State apparatus must be sanitised

When the State cannot rely on its own machinery to pursue suspected wrongdoing, repairing that machinery must become a national priority.The establishment of a Special Investigations and Asset Recovery Task Force may help government respond to the immediate challenge. However, Botswana cannot afford to leave the Directorate on Corruption and Economic Crime (DCEC) and the Directorate of Public Prosecutions (DPP) struggling whilst building...

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