12/08/2026
๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐, ๐๐๐
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๐๏ธ ๐๐ฉ๐ฆ๐บ ๐ธ๐ข๐ฏ๐ต ๐๐ฐ๐ต๐ด๐ธ๐ข๐ฏ๐ขโ๐ด ๐ฎ๐ช๐ฏ๐ช๐ด๐ต๐ฆ๐ณ๐ด ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ข๐ท๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ช๐ณ ๐ฐ๐ง๐ง๐ช๐ค๐ฆ๐ด, ๐ท๐ช๐ด๐ช๐ต ๐๐๐ ๐๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ข๐ค๐ข๐ถ ๐๐ช๐ฏ๐ฆ, ๐ด๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ข๐ฌ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ธ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฌ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ด ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ด๐ฆ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ช๐ณ ๐ธ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฌ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ญ๐ช๐ท๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ช๐ต๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ด ๐ง๐ช๐ณ๐ด๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ
๐๏ธ ๐๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฌ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ด ๐ข๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ค๐ข๐ญ๐ญ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ช๐ณ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ค๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฏ๐ด ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฃ๐ฆ ๐ช๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต๐ญ๐บ ๐ช๐ฏ๐ท๐ฆ๐ด๐ต๐ช๐จ๐ข๐ต๐ฆ๐ฅ. ๐๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฒ๐ถ๐ฆ๐ด๐ต๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ช๐ด ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐๐ฐ๐ต๐ด๐ธ๐ข๐ฏ๐ขโ๐ด ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ข๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ด๐ฉ๐ช๐ฑ ๐ธ๐ช๐ญ๐ญ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ด๐ธ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ค๐ข๐ญ๐ญ.
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(๐๐๐๐) - A video showing Zambiaโs former Labour Minister Brenda Mwika Tambatamba confronting an investor during a workplace inspection has struck a chord with workers at MMG Khoemacau Copper Mine, who are now challenging Botswanaโs ministers to adopt a similarly hands-on approach.
Workers say the lesson from the Zambian ministerโs approach should not be limited to Khoemacau or the mining industry. They are calling on Botswanaโs ministers and senior government officials responsible for labour, employment, occupational safety and other relevant sectors to regularly visit workplaces across the country, from mines and construction sites to factories, farms, companies and contractor operations.
Their message is simple and clear, do not only meet employers in boardrooms, go to where Batswana work, speak to employees directly and see their conditions for yourselves. Recently, MMG Khoemacau workers who approached The Hope Newspaper Botswana raised concerns about remuneration, treatment, transportation, accommodation and general working conditions involving some Chinese contractors at Khoemacau. The newspaper put the concerns to MMG Khoemacau, which they denied the allegations.
Some workers have also raised concerns about the condition of accommodation provided to employees, arguing that living conditions deserve the same scrutiny as workplace safety. They say clean, safe and decent accommodation is particularly important for employees who spend long periods away from their families. These claims have not been independently verified because the mine could not allow us in to see firsthand or rather the Ministry has not for any given time found it fit to visit in for the purpose of workers working conditions.
The concerns come as Chinese companies take on a growing role at Khoemacau. In 2025, Chinese mining company JCHX Mining Management secured an approximately US$805 million underground mining services contract, replacing Australian contractor Barminco.
Questions over worker welfare were further heightened after Sehitlhwa police impounded five staff buses linked to Chinese contractors at Magapelwa Gate, including drivers reportedly operating without required Professional Driving Permits, vehicles without valid permits and one allegedly failing roadworthiness requirements. Therefore, workers want government officials to make workplace inspections a broader national practice, arguing that workers in different sectors may experience challenges that are not always visible through official reports or employer meetings.
With Khoemacau employing about 3,200 people, including contractors, and its workforce expected to reach around 5,500 during peak expansion, worker welfare deserves serious attention. For the workers, the call is not for confrontation with employers or investors. It is for visibility, accountability and independent oversight.
The allegations raised by Khoemacau workers remain unproven, while the mineโs denial must also be considered. What is clear, however, is that workers want their concerns to be heard and independently investigated. The bigger question now is whether Botswanaโs leadership will take up the challenge.
๐น ๐๐๐ฃ๐๐จ๐ฉ๐ง๐ฎ ๐ค๐ ๐๐๐๐ค๐ช๐ง ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐๐ค๐๐๐๐ก ๐๐๐๐ช๐ง๐๐ฉ๐ฎ ๐๐๐ข๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ค๐ค๐ ๐๐๐๐
