Inside Discovery Metals� troubled Botswana stay [Special Report]
Friday, July 10, 2015
With scores in attendance under white tents pitched on dusty sands on September 7, 2012, President Ian Khama officially launched the first of many mines on Botswana’s section of the 800-kilometre-long Kalahari Copperbelt.
“I wish to commend Discovery Metals that amidst the global economic ills, you forged ahead without wavering. You remained firmly focused to deliver the mine which employs about 500 people, 96 percent being citizens,” Khama told the motley audience of business suits and geologists’ khakis.
Khama’s announcement to take over as Kgosikgolo was met with jubilation by some, but it also exposed deep-seated divisions. The Bogosi Act, which clearly states that a Mothusa Kgosi cannot be removed without the minister’s involvement, serves as a crucial legal safeguard. This law is designed to prevent arbitrary decisions and ensure stability within traditional leadership structures.The tension between Khama and Serogola has been simmering...