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
CAF is a joke, but...

We are told of massive spin-offs for hosting countries, which we assume was the catalyst behind putting in the bid.We are not too sure if it is a one-size fits all, where any hosting nation reaps the benefits or it’s on a case-by-case basis.There are arguments from both ends, with hosting a sure way to accelerate infrastructure development and a guaranteed cash flow during the 30-days of the tournament.There is a bump in employment creation...

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