Botswana: Govt to Spend Over P10m On Minerals Project
By Tebogo Lephogole
Gaborone — An estimated P10 125 670 has been approved for the implementation of a National Development Plan (NDP) 11 project aimed at assessing dark coloured minerals and mineral-bearing rocks in Botswana.
Minister of Mineral Resources, Green Technology and Energy Security, Mr Lefoko Moagi said in Gaborone recently that the project was scheduled to be completed in February 2023.
"It will highlight in areas of high mineral potential such as base metals, rare earth metals, precious metals and platinum group metals in those geologic environments building including groundwater potential," he said.
Mr Moagi, who was speaking at a Botswana Geoscience Institute (BGI) new brand unveiling ceremony, said it represented the organisation's core mandate.
"Today's occasion aims to unveil the BGI corporate identity to forge partnership with the general public and as the organisation evolves, the brand needs to evolve with it to embrace the change and recognise the need for growth," said Mr Moagi.
Saying re-branding was a milestone in the evolution of any organisation seeking to reposition itself, Minister Moagi noted that the initial identity could become irrelevant and therefore a liability impeding a company from reaching full potential.
BGI and its corporate identity must advance to remain relevant to traditional and new customers, he said.
Minister Moagi noted that even the biggest companies in the world had evolved their brand identity to keep up with market changes.
He said BGI employees were given an opportunity to appreciate the logo and be proud to be associated with it especially that they played an important role in its creation.
The unveiling would be followed by BGI employees brand training sessions aimed at getting them to understand the organisation's mandate as espoused in the Botswana Geoscience Institute Act.
Mr Moagi said BGI was created in 2014 through restructuring the Department of Geological Survey to position it as a significant creator of wealth for the nation and improving Batswana's quality of life.
"BGI is intricately linked to the country's national development goals and strategic imperatives," he said.
In his closing remarks, BGI board chairperson, Professor Motsoptse Modisi described the logo as a trademark and signature which showed that men and women of BGI worked tirelessly to conceptualize and deliver within the expected time and resources albeit the unprecedented delays in approval processes.
He said after months of research, planning and collaboration, the organisation had completed the challenging task of creating an image that would epitomize BGI, its operations, products and services.
"We are fully aware that, 60 per cent of branding is about perceptions and 40 per cent is about our actual products and services," he said.
Professor Modisi noted that as the organisation embarked on the process of reinventing, it had to show compelling reasons encapsulated in its mantra.
He explained that BGI's purpose was captured in the mantra; "Excellence in Geoscience" which expressed the highest intent to focus and meet all expected levels of distinction.
Purpose, he explained, drove performance and productivity.
Meanwhile, BGI senior chemist, Ms Julia Mmualefe has said the organisation's transformation into a research centre of excellence in geoscience, would enable it to contribute to
Sustainable Development Goals by diversifying the country's mineral industry through discovery of new minerals.
"We understand our role as drivers of the economy of Botswana beginning with finding resources to estimating their value," she said.
She noted that investors appeal would be the ultimate goal for driving diversification agenda and subsequently contributing to the country's GDP.
This article originally appeared on Botswana Daily News
Photo: Botswana Daily News