FRANCISTOWN: City Mayor, Godisang Radisigo, has expressed optimism that the proposed sale of Tati Nickel Mining Company (TNMC) will come to pass.
The company, which is an ancillary of BCL Mine, ceased its operations when the mine was liquidated in 2016. BCL properties in Selebi-Phikwe were bought by PNR while TNMC operations, just outside Francistown are yet to find a suitor. However, it has since emerged that NIU Investment, an Austrian firm whose director is Cevdet Caner is interested in purchasing TNMC. Caner was in Francistown last week where he toured TNMC operations before meeting President Mokgweetsi Masisi. According to information shared by the presidency last week, Caner met with Masisi, Minerals and Energy Minister, Lefoko Moagi and other senior government officials to discuss the sale of the mine.
NIU has reportedly put forward a solid proposal to purchase TNMC. This week, Radisigo told Mmegi that news that NIU have put forward a solid proposal to purchase to TNMC excites him because should the proposed sale succeed, it would signal the end of the city’s economic woes. “Our hope is that the transaction will go through as soon as possible. We urge the government to expedite the sale process in the event that a concrete proposal to purchase the mine has been put forward by NIU. “As the council we are ready to play a facilitating role to ensure that NIU starts operations earnestly once the sale transaction has gone through,” he said.
Radisigo stated that the high unemployment rate in the city is a greater source of worry to him and is largely attributed to the closure of TNMC. Over 700 employees directly lost their jobs when the mine was liquidated in 2016. Hundreds of employees also lost their jobs when several businesses that serviced the mine closed. “We believe that the reopening of TNMC will in addition to creating jobs, boosts industrialisation. The city has not been doing well since the closure of the mine. The unemployment situation was also worsened by the fact that some businesses folded after failing to deal with the effects of Covid-19,” Radisigo said. He added, “I have not had many interactions with NIU. They had proposed that they pay a courtesy call to my office last week but that could not materiliase because I had engagements in Gaborone. The meeting could not be rescheduled because they had a tighter diary. However, from our limited interactions I am convinced that they are trustworthy investors.”
Radisigo further said that some potential investors have been reluctant to set up businesses in the city owing to lack of commercial activity. He emphasised that should the mine reopen, it will boost investor appetite, something that would inevitably see more businesses setting up in the city. The mayor expressed hope that the government will consider relocating one of the ministries to Francistown, with a view of boosting economic activity in the city. Last year, the Vice President Slumber Tsogwane said that the government should consider relocating some ministries from Gaborone to Francistown.
This he said would boost the city’s ailing economy. “I will sincerely plead with His Excellency (President Mokgweetsi Masisi) to move a couple of ministries here to revitalise this city,” Tsogwane said in his address at the official opening of Blue Jacket Plaza Mall. However, despite Tsogwane’s assertions, there is still no indication that the government will relocate some of the ministries to Francistown. Francistown councillors have also constantly urged government to consider moving some of the ministries and some of her key entities to Francistown with a view of resuscitating the city’s economy. Francistown South legislator, Wynter Mmolotsi, is not so enthusiastic about the potential purchase and reopening of TNMC. “In October 2019, the government promised that TNMC would reopen within five years. Now, with only two months left before the five-year timeline elapses, that commitment remains unfulfilled. Several months ago minister Moagi promised that the Selkirk part of the mine (TNMC) is about to be reopened because it does not require a lot of remedial works to ready it for operations. To this day there is no sign that the Selkirk part of the mine will be reopened,” Mmolotsi said. He added that Masisi’s claims about the imminent purchase and reopening of TNMC might just be a political gimmick meant to entice voters ahead of the 2024 General Election.