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Masisi’s multi-billionaire vaccine connection vows to deliver

Partners: Soon-Shiong and Masisi met in Los Angeles in September PIC: MORERI SEJAKGOMO
Partners: Soon-Shiong and Masisi met in Los Angeles in September PIC: MORERI SEJAKGOMO

President Mokgweetsi Masisi is ending his year on a high note after recently securing commitments from a Los Angeles-based multibillionaire for fast-tracking development of vaccine production in Botswana. Staff Writer, MBONGENI MGUNI reports

Patrick Soon-Shiong, a South African-born multibillionaire based in the US, is vowing to move quickly beyond the agreement he signed recently with Botswana and speedily establish vaccine manufacturing in the country.

While well-meaning Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) have been signed before with little ground or progress made after that, Soon-Shiong has said he intends to have a manufacturing facility operational at the Botswana Digital and Innovation Hub’s Icon Building by 2026. The facility will produce vaccines for COVID-19, cancer as well as next generation cell-based immunotherapies.

Editor's Comment
Depression is real; let's take care of our mental health

It is not uncommon in this part of the world for parents to actually punish their children when they show signs of depression associating it with issues of indiscipline, and as a result, the poor child will be lashed or given some kind of punishment. We have had many suicide cases in the country and sadly some of the cases included children and young adults. We need to start looking into issues of mental health with the seriousness it...

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