Mqondisi Dube
9 April 2008
Gaborone — Botswana stands to lose out on the mining boom, particularly in the southern hemisphere as competition for scarce skills turns into a scramble.
BCL General Manager Montwedi Mphathi and some members of parliament warned that xenophobic tendencies and bureaucratic delays in issuing work permits could affect Botswana's chances of reaping full rewards from the mining boom.
The BCL management organised a guided tour of the mine for members of parliament last Saturday. Mphathi said there were already reports that some BCL employees had been approached by Australian mining companies offering lucrative packages, with little paperwork delays. "There is a shortage of skills," Mphathi said. "I wish we could see this in Botswana and open up. Certainly, there can't be enough skills in Botswana. If we become xenophobic, we will lose out on this boom."Mphathi added that Australian companies recruited and issued work and residence permits on site, which put countries like Botswana at a disadvantage.
The Ministry of Labour and Home Affairs has promised to reduce the waiting period from three months to six weeks, but this is still seen as a lengthy period. Mphathi warned that if the Zimbabwe situation turned around, there would be a further shortage of skills as that country is mineral rich.The GM said despite scarce skills in the mining industry, BCL had the lowest expatriate numbers with just over two percent of the more than 4 000 employees.
Responding to a question from Specially Nominated MP Professor Sheila Tlou, Mphathi said BCL did not employ foreigners for jobs that did not require specialised skills. He said expatriates at BCL were mostly senior managers and engineers. The mining boom was expected to last longer and therefore there would be a need to train Batswana in the necessary skills. Francistown South MP Khumo Maoto said Botswana was not an island and urged authorities to expedite the process of issuing work permits. "BCL has our support on that issue, but the problem is that other mines like Tati hire expatriates who do not have specialised skills," Maoto said.
Okavango MP, Vister Moruti wanted to know why BCL did not adopt beneficiation like Debswana and Tati Nickel. In response, Mphathi said BCL supported the beneficiation initiative but that the company's financial position did not allow for the construction of a refinery. He said P1 billion was needed to build a refinery. "Because of debts, we could not go out and borrow P1 billion to build a refinery. We believe the refinery at Tati can process our material," Mphathi said.
At the moment, BCL sends its matte to Norway and Zimbabwe for processing. Selebi-Phikwe West MP, Kavis Kario, said diversification of the economy remained crucial. "We need to grow the economy through diversification because as we know, mining is finite," he said.
MPs lauded BCL management for improved labour relations and the general working conditions at the mine.
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