The Botswana College of Distance and Open Learning (BOCODOL) held its 10th Graduation Ceremony on the 22nd November 2014 at BOCODOL Head Office in Gaborone. The event was held under the theme; “BOCODOL – transforming the tertiary education landscape”. A total of 712 learners were conferred with certificates. BOCODOL in collaboration with the Zimbabwe Open University (ZOU) conferred certificates on its Diploma in Business Management and Diploma in Human Resources Management graduands as well as Bachelor of Commerce in HR and Industrial Relations. The College also conferred certificates in Small Scale Business Management (SSBM), Microsoft Office Suite and English for…
Author: Editor
Rio Tinto, the operator of the Diavik Diamond Mine in Canada, has formally approved the development of a fourth pipe, known as A21, at the remote subarctic Diavik mine site. According to company, the A21 pipe development was part of the original mine plan and is estimated to cost US$350 million over four years. The Diavik Joint Venture (Rio Tinto 60 per cent; Dominion Diamond Corporation 40 per cent) has approved the 2015 programme of works and the A21 diamond production is planned for late 2018. The A21 production will provide an important source of incremental supply for Diavik, ensuring…
Walkabout Resources Limited said it has decided to invest in the highly prospective Lindi Graphite Project in south-eastern Tanzania. The project is located to the northeast along strike from the world class high quality Nachu Graphite Project. The company has in the past revealed the option for a staged purchase of 70% of four prospecting licenses (PL’s 9992/2014, 9993/2014, 9994/2014 and 9906/2014) totalling 325km2 in the world class graphite province in south-eastern Tanzania approximately 75km to the west of the coastal town of Lindi. One of the licences is contiguous to the World Class Nachu Graphite Project being developed by Magnis Resources.…
fastjet, the low-cost pan-African airline, is celebrating two years of providing low-cost air travel across Africa on 29 November 2014. The airliner started commercial flight operations on 29 November 2012, flying passengers from Dar es Salaam to Kilimanjaro and Mwanza in Tanzania on its A319 aircraft. Since then, the airline has expanded its network with the introduction of its third domestic route to Mbeya in Tanzania, and launched its international route network with flights from Dar es Salaam to Johannesburg in South Africa, Lusaka in Zambia, Harare in Zimbabwe and Entebbe in Uganda. To date, the airline has carried over…
Paragon Diamonds Limited says it is finalising the design and order plans for a state of the art processing plant for its 80% owned Meso Diamonds’ Lemphane kimberlite mine in Lesotho. According to the company, the plant’s modular design and use of the latest X-Ray Transmission (XRT) diamond recovery technology will reduce both capital and operating costs, improve diamond recovery and as a result significantly enhance the project’s economics. “This update is in line with the company’s objective to commence Stage I production at Lemphane in Q1 2015, which will involve the extraction of 1 million tonnes of kimberlite over…
The insurance sector is going to be one of the hardest hit by climate change, from rising claims to losses on investments. Speaking at a three day Organisation of Eastern and Southern Africa Insurers’ 37th Annual Conference (OESAI), David Lesolle of University of Botswana said disasters linked to climate change could cost insurance companies large sums of money. “Insurers in some countries have stopped offering coverage, and others have limited what they cover. It’s also meant higher insurance premiums that many people cannot afford, leaving them uninsured or underinsured,” revealed Lesolle. “The winners in this sector will be those companies that understand the risks…
Botswana has been told it needs ingredients to drive the depth and breadth of its primary growth path including building off her natural resources, having strong institutions and sound policy frameworks and be society inclusive in the growth plan The diamond rich country has used all the tricks in the book to diversify the economy and although there is growth in the non-mining sector, minerals extraction still plays a major role in the economy. Anglo American Chief Executive Officer, Mark Cutifani warned Botswana at the National Business Conference (NBC) in Maun that mineral resources like any other natural resource, ‘you…
Botswana Diamonds (BOD) has reported a loss on its recent results owing to the ongoing exploration in the Orapa area as the company aims to discover another mine in the area. The AIM listed exploration outfit said funds raised in 2013 and 2014 funded all of the exploration to date with cash remaining to cover some if not all of next year’s programme, according to preliminary results for the year ended 30 June 2014 published on Monday. The results showed the company registered an operation loss of slightly above £ 1 million from the £ 477,908 reported in the same period in 2013. The loss went down to…
27 children from St. Peter’s Day Care Centre’s reception class celebrated their graduation, moving one step closer towards greater educational prosperity. A graduation ceremony was held at the Centre, located in the heart of Mogoditshane, on Saturday 22nd November 2014. Supported by Stanbic Bank Botswana and other stakeholders, the ceremony and festivities, including a Nativity play and Christmas carol recitals, were held before patrons, supporters, family and friends of St. Peter’s. “Our relationship with St Peter’s Day Care Centre under the leadership of Father Andrew began in 2013, when our Client Coverage team began nurturing a relationship we hoped…
As part of the overarching awareness activities ahead of the much-anticipated Initial Public Offering (IPO) of Botswana Telecommunications Corporation Limited (BTCL), BTCL has successfully completed a nationwide employee road show. The series of engagements spanned 7 sites and all 952 employees in total. The employee road show sought to further strengthen existing efforts to engage staff on the status of the IPO, with a particular focus on the details of the recently approved Employee Share Option Scheme (ESOP) and other related functions. An initial national tour was held from the 3rd to the 19th of July 2014, with BTCL Managing…