Boko recently announced that he had exercised his presidential powers to assemble a Judicial Commission of Inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the 2016 closure of the BCL Ltd Group of Companies. In announcing the BCL Commission, Boko said the probe will, amongst other things, establish the roles of former presidents if they had influenced anyone in the public sector in relation to the winding up of the BCL Group of Companies, liquidation processes related to the BCL companies and or the affairs of the BCL. The President also said the Commission will look into the winding up of BCL Group of Companies and its subsidiaries including but not limited to BCL Investments, Tati Nickel Mining Company, the winding up process, the affairs of the insolvent as well as allegations of capture, corruption and fraud in the public sector including organs of State and State Owned Companies. Boko further announced Malcolm Wallis, former Judge of the Supreme Court of Appeal of South Africa, as the Commissioner alongside his team and the secretariat who will start the work in June.
Briefing the media recently on various issues, the BMWU acknowledged the President’s encouragement of their members in supporting the Commission through the provision of evidence that could assist it in unraveling the intricate and complex processes surrounding the BCL liquidation, but believe it is not enough. “We believe that this Commission of inquiry could have been made dynamic and robust through the inclusion and appointment of a representative from the BMWU. This would have added a revolutionary and progressive element to the manner in which the Commission of Inquiry would execute its mandate,” BCL president, Joseph Tsimako said. Tsimako said the union can no longer be a bystander in this protracted matter. He said supporting the work of the Commission only as evidence providers is not enough. “The union wishes to be part of the process. The union brings lived experiences of former workers of BCL including operational nuances that no legal expert will understand about the operations of the BCL Mines,” he said.
He said in order to make the Judicial Commission of Inquiry efficient, revolutionary, dynamic, progressive and robust, consideration ought to have been given for the union’s and/or its representative to be appointed on the commission. “It is not too late for the President to revise the team composition in favour of the union,” he said. He further shared that Minister of Minerals and Energy, Bogolo Kenewendo, and the Minister for State President, Moeti Mohwasa, held a meeting with former BCL members in Selebi-Phikwe on February 16, 2025 to address amongst other things, the BCL housing situation and the ongoing disposal of BCL assets by the BCL Liquidator. Tsimako said following honest and robust engagements of the parties, it was agreed that a BCL in Liquidation task committee would be established, comprising the BMWU, Former BCL Senior Staff Union Pressure Group, Office of the President and the Ministry of Minerals and Energy led by the Deputy Permanent Secretary for Minerals and Energy.
He said Kenewendo committed to return to Selebi-Phikwe in April 2025 after conclusion of the BCL liquidation consolidation report. The union leader said the ministers' consolidation report was and is a welcome development. The union is, however, not clear what effect if any, the consolidation report will have on the BCL issues in light of the purported mandate of the Commission of Inquiry “There is need to engage with Minister Kenewendo to appreciate how these entities will work together and whether there will not be overlapping mandates between these two structures. It is important to note that the Commission of Inquiry is established pursuant to Presidential Powers exercised under the Commission of Inquiry Act, whilst the other entity is purely administrative with no legal backing,” he said. Tsimako further urged that the Commission of Inquiry must not be used to delay the payment of outstanding soft landing packages owed to BCL former employees. He said it is clear that the commission seeks to understand the underlying reasons for government’s decision to close BCL but not necessarily on whether separation packages were paid to employees. However, he said the inquiry into those decisions by the previous administration can be done parallel or simultaneously with the payment of former BCL members outstanding soft landing packages.
