Orapa, Letlhakane mines rescue pregnant women

Christinah Motlhabane
OLDM GENERAL MANAGER: Bakani Motlhabani

DIAMOND MINES HAND OVER MARTENITY WARD

Orapa, Letlhakane and Damtshaa mines (OLDM) recently handed over a maternity ward constructed at a cost of P5.3 million to Letlhakane village.

It is a 400m2 maternity facility comprising of 14 beds for adults and three beds for premature babies.

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The project was conceived in an endeavor to ease congestion and improve access to high quality health care in Letlhakane village.

In his welcome remarks, OLDM’s General Manager, Bakani Motlhabani stated that Debswana is fully committed to improving the lives of communities they operate within.

“This is a philosophy that drives us, and one that will continue to inspire us as an endeavour to leave a legacy of prosperity and sustainability with the communities in which we operate.

“Through our corporate social investment programme, we will continue to look into ways of how best we can partner with key development stakeholders to make life brilliant for communities around our operation,” said Motlhabani.

He noted that the project is one of the examples that clearly define true partnership between employees; business partners and the community of Boteti, as part of the funds were raised during the annual OLDM GM’s charity walk.

The GM concluded by appreciating the Debswana team who were managing the project as well as the contractor – Time Catch that despite the challenges brought about by Covid-19, they soldiered on and ensured that the project was completed within budget.

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Delivering the keynote address, the Minister of Health and Wellness, Edwin Gorataone Dikoloti shared his joyful sentiment saying he was delighted to officially receive the beautiful facility and that there is no doubt it will uplift and promote the health and wellbeing of communities in Boteti.

MINISTER OF HEALTH AND WELLNESS: Edwin Dikoloti

“Considering the rising demand for hospital confinement, the increase in the number of births in hospitals in Boteti Sub District, there must be sufficient number of beds to accommodate patients so that our health system is not put under immense pressure.

“Health facilities at times struggle to provide the much- needed facilities to provide care. Thus, the development of new facilities like the one we are receiving today is critical if we are to accelerate the reduction of maternal and new-born mortality,” added the Minister of Health and Wellness.

Dikoloti went on to note that good health and wellness are basic human rights and necessary conditions for development as espoused in the Botswana Vision 2036 and that improving maternal health is one of the World Health Organization key priorities.

TOP-NOTCH: Letlhakane maternity ward

He concluded by saying that OLDM did not only help the government, but also the Boteti community and most importantly, government will be able to deliver immediate quality health to Batswana.

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“As a government, we are committed to developing world-class health care facilities and to ensure they are accessible to all people living in Botswana so that Batswana can live long and healthy lives,” he said.

The Assistant Minister of Health and Wellness and Member of Parliament for Boteti East, Sethomo Lelatisitswe, thanked the contractor for finishing on time and for the top-notch quality.

“We hope on rainy seasons we will not have to call people to mend where it rains,” he said.

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