Following Morapedi (2018), oral testimonies reveal that Botswana migrant miners have contributed immensely to the socio-economic development of different communities in the country in terms of supporting families and setting up businesses, employing local people.
Recently, when I was home, I had the privilege of going through my late father’s documents from his time at the Durban Roodepoort Deep mine in apartheid South Africa. I saw receipts from Roodepoort furniture stores, pay slips, burial society books, savings books and certificates. Not only that but my mother, elaborated how they started building a General Dealer store from his mine wages.
I was also privileged to be at the Kanye Main Kgotla on the morning of March 9th where one ex-migrant mine worker proudly told me that most of the early general dealers, bars and transport companies in the village were indeed started by migrant mineworkers.
Blessing Kgosi e tsile Kgasa 