22 Jul 2019

Traditional song and dance was the order of the day on Saturday when Jwaneng Mine celebrated Debswana’s 50 years anniversary.

The mine hosted a cultural festival, which was characterised by traditional games such as mhele and morabaraba as well as bicycle race, tug of war, egg and sack races, among others. The objective was to celebrate successful mining of diamonds with employees, communities within Jwaneng Mine’s area of influence and beyond.

Officiating at the event, Jwaneng mine assistant general manager, Sedireng Serumola said the anniversary was a significant milestone for Debswana and the country in general. He acknowledged the contribution of the past and present Botswana leaders for having provided a conducive environment for successful diamond mining.

He said the cultural event was intended to remind Batswana of their culture as well as provide an opportunity to share the culture with the upcoming generations. He said the games took them down memory lane on traditional forms of entertainment.

He commended the tribal leaders and residents of nearby villages for taking part in the celebrations to ensure a successful event.

For his part, Jwaneng mayor Obed Monkge applauded Debswana for a significant role of effectively mining diamonds to develop Botswana and her people.

He said since the discovery of diamonds in the country, Batswana had benefited in various ways both directly and indirectly from the sale of diamonds.

Meanwhile, Racquets club team scooped position one in tug of war, followed by security department and mining respectively.

Kgosi Isaac Boiditswe of Maokane emerged the winner in the bicycle race undertaken by tribal leaders. There were also individual prices under the egg and sack race for ladies, men and children categories.ENDS