Minister of Land, Management, Water and Sanitation Services,Mr Kefentse Mzwinila says the private sector is key in driving the knowledge based economy which the country is striving for.
When officially commissioning the Water Utilities Cooperation (WUC) Water Drilling Rig hosted by the engineering group in Rasesa on Friday, Mr Mzwinila said it was therefore government’s responsibility to facilitate the necessary infrastructure to ensure that the private sector thrived and were custodians and drivers of a knowledge-based economy.
He applauded DWD Technology Group for being one of the companies that had made efforts towards the knowledge-based economy.
He said the fact that DWD Engineering could produce a drilling rig of such complexity and intellectual investment was evidence that the country was on the right track to being a knowledge-based economy.
“A drilling rig requires a lot of and intellectual capital, knowledge and expertise. In a couple of years our goal is to see drilling rigs of this nature and other components being exported by this company, then we would know that indeed we have achieved our milestone of a knowledge-based economy,” he said.
He further said in a knowledge-based economy there was no need to source products from outside the country and the quality of goods produced were of international standard, adding that the engineering company was proof of such an economy as it had evolved from being a drilling company into a custodian of intellectual capital.
In addition, he said it was a significant milestone to have a drilling rig which could drill up to 700 metres with the ability to drill the circumferences which were needed for production boreholes.
“We are working on getting the transfer schemes which were behind schedule optimally on schedule.
In a couple of months we are starting the Gaborone-Lobatse transfer scheme, which is a major scheme that will alleviate water shortage in Ramotswa, Lobatse, Goodhope-Mabule and Mmathethe-Molapowabojang,” he said.
He said another transfer scheme had been started from Masama which was expected to supply more water down to Gaborone and 19 constituencies more constituencies.
He said other transfer schemes which were being worked on were Mmamashia to Gaborone and vice-versa.
For his part, DWD Technology Group Managing Director, Mr Jan de Wet thanked government for giving his company an opportunity to work on the projects.
When giving a vote of thanks, WUC Chief Executive Officer, Mr Gaselemogwe Senai applauded the company saying when WUC bought its first machine they decided to go into a partnership and found them not just as a supplier but a partner in water resource development and management.
“Their after-sale service has been second to none. We trust and hope that the spirit will continue into the future,” he said.
The DWD Technology Group is a group of companies that render superior drilling and engineering services through a number of group companies in Southern African Development Countries.
By Sandra Sethaiso | Daily News | 28 June 2020 | www.dailynews.gov.bw
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