Not a scrap of info on copper cable market

Mmegi

Addressing scrap metal dealers in Gaborone recently, Kabo Marage, who is CID Officer for the South Central Division that covers Gaborone, Ramotswa, Palapye, Mahalapye and Serowe, said the police were not sure if stolen copper cables found buyers within the country or abroad. "We have not identified the market for stolen cables," said Marage. "But the market is a very critical area, which once is identified and stopped, the culprits will have nowhere to sell their contraband."

P572,000 minimum price for BHC Flats

Mmegi

A home loans officer at Barclays Bank who did not want to be named told Mmegi in a telephone interview that to qualify for a loan of P577,000, the high end price for the one bedroom unit, one would need a net income of at least P11,911, after tax and other deductions. This would be for a loan with an 11 percent interest paid over 20 years at a monthly instalment of P5,955.73. The officer said that in her experience, first time homeowners such as recent graduates usually prefer to buy flats. "Older people tend to buy townhouses," she said.

Rural libraries to go hi-tech thanks to Gates Foundation

Mmegi

"'We want Batswana across the country to have access to the Internet. Every place where there is a library, people should be able to access the Internet. We are also trying our best to ensure that people get an understanding of how the project works,'"

Hodges Resources to acquire up to 99% of the Morupule South Coal project, Botswana

African Business News - MBENDI:

"Hodges Resources Ltd (ASX: HDG) has exercised its option with SNDP Manufacture Mining and Construction Services (PTY) Ltd ('SDNP') for the rights to acquire up to 99% of the Morupule South Coal project, through a joint venture agreement. They can earn up to 99% interest in a strategic coal project. Inferred JORC resource of 414 Mt's. Exploration Target of 700 to 800 Mt's."

BOCCIM mediates between govt, unions

Mmegi:

"We have already been told the Finance Ministry is working on figures to see how best the deficit can be reduced so that government can accommodate whatever percentage it can. The issue is how can we help or what ideas can we bring to reduce the deficit, we have some suggestions" - Mbaakanyi

"We want to go to the unions and say 'supposing this scenario were to be the case, how would you react?' We also want to obtain their views so that before we bring the parties together, we are sure that they are agreed on the suggestions that are being made."

Comair Suspends Start of Flights to Gaborone, Maputo, Business Day Reports

Comair Ltd. (COM) suspended starting flights to Gaborone, Botswana’s capital, and Maputo in Mozambique. The flights, which were due to start on May 30, have been delayed to September as the company awaits a commitment from Lanseria International Airport, Johannesburg, to build a new runway and expand other infrastructure, the Johannesburg- based newspaper reported. Lanseria plans to spend 150 million rand on a new runway and is investing more than 50 million rand in three new terminal gates and 1,000 new parking bays.

Minister of Diamond Rich Botswana Attending Antwerp Diamond Conference

In pursuit to the objective of establishing a Botswana Diamond Centre and downstream diamond manufacturing facilities, the Minister undertook a trip to Belgium and Switzerland at the end of August 2010 and explored areas of collaboration between Botswana and the Antwerp World Centre. Minister Kedikilwe is expected back home on 25th May, 2011

Adding Value to De Beers

Diamonds.net

De Beers announced the much-anticipated appointment of its new chief executive officer (CEO) earlier this week, almost a full year after the position was vacated. Ultimately, the length of time taken to make the appointment, and the candidate chosen, indicate a sense of urgency that may have been felt by chairman Nicky Oppenheimer, and fellow shareholders, Anglo American and the Botswana government, to get it right. While former CEO Gareth Penny embarked on a 5-year plan to grow the company, which was subverted to an economic crisis navigation strategy, his heir apparent will be tasked to take a much longer outlook. In accepting the position, Philippe Mellier, a French national, will need to assess the company’s potential in the context of its recent performance and corporate structure. While De Beers hailed a strong year of recovery in 2010, from a broader perspective, it appears to have remained rather stagnant over the past decade. Annual group sales in 2000 were around $6 billion, as they still were ten years later.

The adage “If you don’t move forward, you begin to move backward” may have weighed heavily on the conscience of Oppenheimer’s board.

Botswana's Minerals Minister Attending Antwerp Diamond Conference

This year's conference is titled "Diamonds 2020: A window to the future" and will indentify and analyze trends expected to affect the diamond industry in the coming years. Kedikilwe is expected to present Botswana's position on the issues of diamond beneficiation and diamond cutting, polishing, and jewelry manufacturing, areas in which Botswana – currently known mainly as a producer of rough diamonds – is seeking to expand.

Nedbank BettaBeta ETF lists on Botswana Stock Exchange

The Botswana Gazette: "“While Nedbank Capital is justifiably proud of the role it has played in this process, the successful listing of the BettaBeta ETF can undoubtedly be attributed to the perseverance of the Botswana Stock Exchange itself,” Visser says, “because it was the BSE that first identified the need for an affordable and broadly inclusive investment vehicle that would enable more Botswanans (Batswana) to benefit from the country’s economic growth, and it has been their unfailing commitment that has ensured this vision has come to fruition, some four years on.” Visser explains that the Nedbank BettaBeta ETF has been designed to offer investors in the BSE affordable exposure to blue chip companies listed on the JSE/FTSE Top 40 – many of which also operate in Botswana."

Botswana market significant

The Botswana Gazette: "“The Botswana market is quite significant to our business, the thought that since the consumer market is not as large as other parts of Africa is mistaken,” Boulanger said, adding that, “in our approach we are aware that the country’s economy is government driven, as such our product delivery is in line with that fact without leaving the consumer market behind.”"

De Beers Hires Alstom's Mellier in Echo of Anglo's Carroll

"We're looking for Philippe really to shape De Beers to be relevant for the next generation," Chairman Nicky Oppenheimer, 65, said in a phone interview from London today. "There's no doubt that De Beers, when Philippe comes to the end of this tenure, will be a different company to what it is today. Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2011/05/15/bloomberg1376-LLA3QM6K50XU01-2V4SFE3598AJU7AKIUA7D198IV.DTL#ixzz1MbGGEEIb

The Development Conundrum Anagram of Africa

GhanaWeb: "'Are you there... Africa of the millions of royal slaves, deported Africa, drifting continent, are you there? Slowly you vanish, you withdraw into the past, into the tales of castaways, colonial museums, the works of scholars' Jean Genet describes Africa in; The Blacks. I am so fascinated by the writings of Walter Rodney and begin to wonder if our policy makers even know where we came from and the development needs of the continent. It is important for the African policy makers come up with policies that aim at benefiting Africans and not other consideration, just as Botswana did remarkably under former president Sir Quett Ketumile Joni Masire. African countries are unjustifiably referred to as developing, in other words, third world countries. Going by the western definition of the status of these countries, they are underdeveloped and less intelligent. “Underdevelopment makes sense only as a means of comparing levels of development. It is very much tied to the fact that human social development has been uneven and from a strictly economic viewpoint some human group have advanced further by producing more and becoming wealthier.” Walter Rodney"

De Beers names new Group CEO

Moneyweb: "The Chairman of the De Beers Board, Nicky Oppenheimer announces that the De Beers Group has appointed Philippe Mellier as the company’s new Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Mellier, currently the President of Alstom Transport and Executive Vice President of Alstom SA, was selected after a wide-ranging search. He will formally join De Beers in July and will chair the company’s Executive Committee and be appointed to the De Beers SA Board."

RBZ urges gold-backed Zim dollar

RBZ urges gold-backed Zim dollar: "Government ditched the Zimbabwe dollar in 2009 after it had been rendered worthless by record inflation levels and adopted multiple foreign currencies with the US dollar, the South African Rand and the Botswana being the most widely used."

Botswana trade deficit at record high in February

Botswana trade deficit at record high in February: "Botswana's trade deficit widened to a record high of 2.25 billion pula (US$335 million) in February on a sharp fall in diamond and beef exports, Statistics Botswana said on Monday"

World's poorest states must diversify: World Bank - Reuters -

World's poorest states must diversify: World Bank - Reuters -

CIC Energy-JSW deal in trouble over Botswana project

Reuters
CIC Energy Corp's buyout by JSW Energy Ltd might be terminated or delayed if it fails to get a "comfort letter" from the Botswana government for its 300 MW power project in Botswana. Last November, CIC had agreed to a C$422 million, or C$7.42 a share, buyout offer from JSW Energy, subject to CIC having obtained such a comfort letter from the Government of Botswana. CIC said it has begun talks with JSW and the government of Botswana. The discussions are expected to conclude by May 31. CIC said the deal may also be delayed pending talks and fulfilment of several conditions. It had expected to close the deal by end of May. If the proposed acquisition of CIC is not completed by May 31, either CIC Energy or JSW will be entitled to terminate the supplementary agreement, CIC said in a statement. Last month, the Botswana government had declined to renew one of CIC's two mining licenses.

"Should the supplementary agreement be terminated, CIC Energy will review its strategic plans, including exploring alternative corporate transactions."

Public service strike exposes chinks in Botswana's armour

Mail & Guardian
Almost 100 000 public servants have been on strike in Botswana since Monday last week, in an unprecedented display of popular militancy in the country. The nationwide strike, over demands for a 16% salary increase, has potential political implications for a state ruled by the Botswana Democratic Party since independence. Thousands of striking workers have gathered daily at the Gaborone Secondary School (GSS) grounds, chanting anti-government slogans. Some union members say the strike is clearly influenced by events in North Africa, adding that the GSS grounds have been nicknamed "the Tahrir Square of Botswana", recalling the scene of protests in central Cairo. Workers in major towns and villages have also been demonstrating. The strike is said to have paralysed government operations such as health and education. Trade unions claim that about 80% of the civil service has joined in. The state is Botswana's largest employer. Unionists said the government has redeployed members of the Botswana Defence Force, the Botswana Police and volunteers to keep services running. The Botswana Red Cross Society has also been roped in to assist in clinics and hospitals. This week the government of President Ian Khama dismissed reports of a "crisis". The government spokesperson and deputy permanent secretary in Khama's office, Jeff Ramsay, told the Mail & Guardian that the situation is under control. "While the strike has certainly not paralysed the government service as a whole, it has had a negative impact in some areas. No hospitals or schools have been closed, but some have been affected," Ramsay said.

Botswana Beef Exports Slump 89% After Exports to Europe Halted

Bloomberg: "Beef exports from Botswana fell 89 percent in February after the country halted shipments to the European Union, according to the Bank of Botswana. Botswana’s beef shipments were 7.5 million pula ($1.2 million) in the month, compared with 66.3 million in January, according to a statement from the Gaborone-based central bank. The state-owned Botswana Meat Commission is working to solve problems outlined in a January EU inspection, including better identification of animals."

Botswana Couriers set to unlock abundant value

Botswana Business Diary: "Sitting on world class infrastructure owned by both Botswana Couriers along with the parent company’s pervasive nationwide footprint and a healthy international network, Botswana Couriers is set to leverage all the advantages open to it with a long term vision to grow beyond being just a courier company."

BCPYL want De Beers, BDP relations probed

Botswana Gazette
“When the BCP’s central committee convenes sometime next month they will look among other things at our request to file a case against the corrupt relations between the ruling party and De Beers, which dates back to the era of Sir Ketumile Masire’s presidency,”

Botswana central bank keeps rates at 9.5 pct

Reuters
"The current state of the economy and the assumptions on both the domestic and external economic outlook ... suggest that maintaining the prevailing level of interest rates is consistent with the achievement of the bank's 3- 6 percent inflation objective in the medium term"

Sarin Ships Galaxy 1000 Diamond Scanning System to Shrenuj Botswana

"Israel's Sarin Technologies has shipped a Galaxy 1000 diamond scanning system to Shrenuj Group's jewelry manufacturing operation in Botswana, the company reports."

Silver Swan Group and Botswana Metals top the Proactive Investors Rippers today

Proactiveinvestors (AU)

Optimising economic value creation

"Despite concerted efforts by many African economies to diversify, the continent still remains primarily a commodities exporter. A commodity price shock owing to poor demand might mean less revenue for government and a disruption of government capital projects. The global economic slump made an example of Botswana in this regard when the diamond was relegated to the bottom of, or off, the international customer’s shopping list.

The shift in demand for African products especially by the European Union and the United States, accounting for almost 60% of Africa’s exports, did not help Botswana either. Many businesses went bust while those that trudged on were saddled by unsettled obligations and desperately needed recapitalization. With owed financial institutions demanding their dues it made little sense to ask them for more.

“In such circumstances three traditional options for raising capital are borrowing from the bank, listing on the stock exchange to raise capital or approaching a rich uncle for help,” VPB, founder and managing director, Anthony Siwawa told The Business Diary in an exclusive interview."

The world's premier mining and mining investment website Nimrodel Resources Commences Drilling at Takatokwane Project, Botswana - COMPANY RELEASES | Mineweb

HIGHLIGHTS

Diamond drill rig mobilized and drilling commenced ahead of schedule

First hole has intersected 3 coal seams

Estimated gross mineralisation intervals of the 1st and 2nd coal seams: 3.7m and 16.5m respectively

Nimrodel Resources Limited (ASX: NMR) is pleased to announce the commencement of drilling at the Takatokwane Project in Botswana. The Company was able to secure a diamond drilling rig earlier than planned and the rig was mobilized to site on Thursday last week. Drilling commenced on Friday and continued over the weekend."

Leighton in JV awarded US$586m mining service contract in Botswana

“We are very comfortable working in Botswana and, in particular of course, for the owners of the Jwaneng mine, being the Government of Botswana and DeBeers. Our partners, Basil Read from South Africa and Bothakga Burrow of Botswana, have operated extensively and for many years in the country,” said Mr Stewart.

“Strategically it makes sense for Leighton – the world’s largest contract miner - to take our mining capability to resources markets like Southern Africa. We see this region, which includes Botswana, Zambia, Namibia, Tanzania and Mozambique, as offering a significant range of mining opportunities.