LESEGO MOSINYI
Morupule Coal Mine (MCM) will start construction of a multipurpose stadium in Palapye through their legacy initiative known as Motheo Project.
Chief Public and Cooperate Affairs Officer, Boineelo Seitshero told The Patriot on Sunday that the project, which will commence on Friday (25thFebruary 2022) and is expected to take eight (8) months to complete, will be constructed at a cost of over twenty-five million pula (P25 million).
According to Seitshero the project will benefit Batswana and locals specifically during construction, through employment and skills acquisition. “It is going to create over one hundred (100) jobs, and locals will further benefit through procurement,” she said.
Furthermore, Seitshero indicated that after construction, the multipurpose stadium will contribute to sports development in the region, and it will be a venue for local, regional and national sporting events.
For his part, Member of Parliament for Palapye, Onneetse Ramogapi said the multipurpose stadium will help create employment of locals during construction and further help Palapye residents, especially small business in the SMMEs sector to boost their income as they will be selling different products. “Over and above, local teams will benefit a lot as they currently spend a lot of money through transport and lodging costs travelling to play games in Gaborone, and Selebi Phikwe. Sometimes Palapye teams are forced to use Selebi Phikwe stadium as their home ground at a time when Serowe sports complex was closed due to structural defects,” lamented Ramogapi.
Ramogapi said the multipurpose stadium will also assist Botswana in future to bid for hosting international games like Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON). Moreover, he indicated that other sectors that will benefit a lot is hotel industry as players and supporters will use Palapye accommodations, by so doing boosting economic activities in the region.
Further, he said small teams will also have an opportunity to benchmark from big teams and eventually get promotion to elite league. “I thank Morupule coal mine a million times. Sports cannot be neglected at this time because it shapes behavior of our youth and is good for wellness/ health,” said Ramogapi.
The area councillor Jordan Makhura said once the facility is complete, it will not only benefit the people of Palapye and the Central District, but will benefit the nation as a whole. He encouraged Batswana, especially the youth, to take advantage of the facilities once they are operational to improve their wellness through exercise and train hard in their chosen sporting codes in order to be successful. He observed that sport has potential to help put food on their table.
“We are going to witness people from across the world who will be coming to use the facility through different activities and this will benefit our hospitality sector, business sector and others and therefore in the end making Palapye the centre of business,” said Makhura.
The Morupule ward councillor further applauded the leadership of Morupule Coal Mine for their continuous development of Palapye and also encouraged other companies to follow their footsteps.