The Presidential Inquiry Committee was established in October 2016 to find out why the BCL mine was closed by former President Ian Kama and other related matters. The official reason presented by the Kama administration at the time was that the government had concluded that the mines were no longer economically viable and that the prices of copper and nickel had fallen drastically. Since then, the closure of the mine has become a local issue that has been highly criticized by the opposition, especially at every opportunity given to Congress. The current Ditapelo Keorapet of the National Assembly, who was then a member of the Celebi Fikwe West Constituency Council, became a prominent voice on the issue that called for the establishment of an investigation into the closure of the mine at one point. He must be pleased in his private corner that it has been established.
According to the government-owned Daily Newspaper dated March 21, 2017, as mining closures became a local issue in the political cycle and elsewhere, the government-owned Daily Newspaper dated March 21, 2017, did so from business Botswana, “examine the circumstances surrounding the BCL closures.” Apparently agreeing with the government’s reason for shutting down the mines, the newspaper said it had “presented a report from the task team.” However, the task team’s main recommendation was, “…mines should not be completely closed as there is still potential for profitable mining due to some restructuring and ownership changes.”
The starting point is that the closure of the mine by Kama was reckless in that there was no extensive consultation before the closure and one of the key stakeholders was the Botswana Mining Workers Union, whose members argued and formed a large portion of the mine’s workforce. Approximately 5,000 miners are estimated to have lost their jobs, and even livelihoods for many immediate and large families. Socioeconomic destruction on other businesses, large and small, is still felt to date and cannot be kept modest. In this respect, Kama is in the crosshairs of the Presidential Commission on the closure of the BCL mine, primarily based on the decisions he took to do so. Fortunately, this discovery is very likely to make this discovery. The question that arises is what recommendations he makes in this regard, as long as he is legally liable for the mine closure and retains subsequent effects if it is permitted by law.
When announcing the establishment of the investigation, President Boko said that one of the conditions for the investigation would be “… to ask if any of the previous presidents had an impact on anyone in relation to the winding up of the BCL group corporate group, BCL companies, or the liquidation process in relation to the issue of BCL.” From this statement he probably knows more about the mine closure than it was made publicly by the Kama administration.
Kama could defend herself by stating that she made the decision when she received an advisory to close the mine from those tasked with investigating the issue. He must present documentaries and other evidence of its effectiveness for verification. He is also likely to mention Article 47 of the Constitution, which allows the President of the Republic to make discretionary decisions on any matter without consulting anyone if he wishes. This is the same law that President Boko used to identify and appoint Alvarez & Marsal Holdings to conduct forensic audits in the government and its state-owned enterprises. From my amateur perspective, I don’t know if the enforcement decision taken by the President of the Republic in light of the provisions of Section 47 will be considered legally challenging. The common cause is that Kama does not deny that he made the decision to close the mine and actually sent his then-Vice President, Mokkoweetsi Masisi, to BCL employees. Therefore, I have a hard time confirming the purpose and final results of determining who ordered the mine to close, and why such information is in the public domain from day one.
Let me go off track a bit and make this point. The president has created a trend that Botswana institutions such as the Corruption and Economic Crimes Bureau (DCEC) and the Financial Intelligence Agency (FIA) cannot investigate high-value corruption and illegal financial transactions by outsource these functions to external entities, as they currently obtain in current research. And the reason is that the president is trying to avoid “homemade investigations, findings, and decisions.” We may be in a situation where the judiciary is also outsourced for the same reasons. Is this arguing that no honest man and woman can investigate the issues of BCL and government misconduct, even if these institutions correctly or mistakenly recognize that political pressure and influence have been exerted on them by the previous BDP regime? Should the president be considered a person who spees homemade investigators to bring in outside friends? Your guess is as good as mine.
Sign up for the AllAfrica newsletter for free
Get the latest African news
success!
Almost finished…
You need to check your email address.
Follow the instructions in the email you sent to complete the process.
error!
There was a problem processing the submission. Please try again later.
Former President Kama will undoubtedly be the main focus of the BCL investigation, considering he shut down the mine and caused enormous suffering and harm to Celebi Fikwe and his neighbours in the process. This is so, and although the closure was not supported by empirical evidence, accompanied by the fact that if the decision could be established, the decision was clearly irrational, I do not believe that his responsibility can go beyond the point that it is an irrational decision. His responsibility can be established if he in any way unfairly influences the liquidation process in order to obtain financial benefits for himself or others near him. I’m ready to be persuaded as usual. Judge for yourself!
*In a sad note, we express our sadness to the family, friends and colleagues of Rre Lebogang Mosikare, the late reporter of the late Mumegi. God’s blessing. adamphetlhe08@gmail.com
