The council learnt about the deal, financed by the European Union (EU) through the media. This forced the mayor to write a letter seeking an audience with the Ministry of Finance to get an explanation. "Though we are elated at the good news, we are however perturbed by failure on your part to officially inform the council or the mayor's office about the funds. This raises questions as to whether your office did not find it necessary to inform the council. Is council input in the utilisation of the funds necessary? If so we then request audience with the minister on the matter," the letter said.
The government and the EU signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on January 21 for the allocation of the P640 million to diversify Selebi-Phikwe's economy away from reliance on copper-nickel mining. The money was disbursed as part of the national budget. A number of priority projects to be funded with the money include the expansion of Selebi-Phikwe Technical College, tourism infrastructure at Letsibogo Dam and a packaging and processing plant for horticultural produce and the improvement of the agro-business sector.
