KHOEMACAU CELEBRATES WOMEN IN MINING
Last Wednesday, 29 March 2023, Khoemacau Copper Mine held a special day to celebrate its female employees as well as the women who work for their contractors.
The Women’s Appreciation Day, organised on the back of International Women’s Day, celebrated worldwide on 8 March, saw Khoemacau host a number of activities, including taking women on a tour of their underground mine, as well as holding training on woman empowerment matters. The eventful day ended with a relaxed dinner attended by Miss Botswana and Miss RADP (Rural Administration Development Programme). Outlining the motivation for holding such an event, Khoemacau’s Vice President Human Resources and Communication, Mmama Mhlanga-fichani explained the aim was to promote gender equality and highlight the importance of diversity in the workplace. “Workplaces that work for women retain women. As Khoemacau, our desire is to be that work place that works for women, to help create a more positive working environment for women and increase motivation and productivity,” stated Mhlanga-fichani, adding the event will also help strengthen relationships between co-workers and improve communication within teams. Khoemacau further believes that there is need for recreation for its employees, “Which is why you see the company offering facilities such as gyms , tennis courts and soccer fields, and
the soccer fields are not just for the brothers, its time we start playing ladies soccer and challenging the guys and actually beating them at the game. We already have Ms Gaoletlhoo Nkutlwisang who is coach for the lady zebras, she is from Komana and I think, and I am sure she would love to coach us.”
The celebration day started with nine female employees, who had never been beneath the surface before, taken on a familiarisation tour of the underground mine. “This was for the ladies to understand what their core business entails,” explained Mhlanga-fichani. Indeed, after the tour, the ladies expressed gratitude and appreciation to management for the eye-opening experience. One of the nine, Theodore Matenge, who is stationed in the processing plant, noted, “What stood out for me is the complexity of technology being used there and the journey that the average copper takes from blasting through haulage up until it reaches the processing plant.” Traditionally a male-dominated industry, Mining is one of the sectors targeted by the theme of this year’s International Day: #Embrace Equality. Currently Khoemacau and its contractors employ a total of 277 women, which makes up 18.3 percent of the workforce. Acknowledging the disparity, the mine’s management organised the ceremony to encourage women to keep thriving in this industry as a way of embracing diversity, equity and inclusion as a business imperative. Renowned Transformation and Family Coach, Bonolo
Phalayagae-nthoiwa, was called to hold talks on matters specific to women working away from home and in a male heavy industry. Topics discussed included among others: coping with being away from family, adapting to adverse circumstances, emotional freedom techniques, surviving in an environment you cannot change and tapping into a woman’s inner resource. Giving the women a word of encouragement, reigning Miss Botswana, Lesego Chombo, stressed the importance of women being given a fair playing field and equal opportunities as men. “Ordinarily women have 2/10 so for them to be at par with men, give them 8/10. Let’s give them what makes them play at the same level with men. Let’s stop people from coming to dictate what they think is good for us!” said Chombo, who is set to represent the country at Miss World in United Arab Emirates in May. The mine is currently supporting Chombo and Miss RADP in their community projects. Chombo is focusing on children’s rights and development, as she strives to uplift children in disadvantaged communities and ensure they live a life and enjoy similar benefits to children in bigger villages and towns. “I call my project ‘ Genesis’ because it is the beginning of greater and good things for children in these communities. The aim is to educate parents that education is broad; when a child is interested in beauty pageantry let them do it let children be children, let them play and explore possibilities,” advised Chombo. Khoemacau continues to celebrate the contribution and achievements of women in the mine, as well as the communities it operates in. It has since launched a community outreach partnership between the beauty queens, Miss Botswana and Miss RADP. To strengthen employment relations Khoemacau continuously provides to its employees, training on allyship to strengthen relations, develop structures for employee resource group related to mental wellbeing and mental health, UB counseling is now on board for psychosocial support and networking opportunities among other initiatives.