GABORONE – The payment of terminal benefits to all former employees of liquidated Botswana nickel miner BCL Limited will start on November 30 amid expectations that it would be concluded by December 16, the provisional liquidator has announced.

The government of Botswana, which was the majority shareholder, placed BCL Limited and subsidiaries Tati Nickel Mining Company (TNMC) and BCL Investments, under provisional liquidation early in October citing nearly a decade of continuous loss-making and a stagnating economy, which raised the cost of subsidising unproductive parastatal enterprises.

In a public notice sent out on November 29, provisional liquidator Nigel Dixon-Warren of KPMG Associates invited all those who were employees of BCL and TNMC mines by 9 October 2016, the day of liquidation, to report and sign-off for their benefits to enable payments.

The terminal benefits have been calculated as per the clarifications provided by the Provisional Liquidator with deductions made as required by law or agreed by individuals.

Former employees will receive individual notifications of the dates on which they should come for the signing-off process, which will be done at Area 2-Makhubu for BCL and Francistown Recreation Club for former Tati Nickel workers, from 0800Hrs to 1700Hrs.

“To ensure an efficient process, former employees are strongly encouraged to come on the dates communicated to them and ensure that they bring proof of identity (Omang) and proof of notification (SMS received). As previously communicated, individuals should complete their exit medical examinations as scheduled, as failure to do so may lead to delayed payments,” Dixon-Warren said.

Further, Dixon-Warren said arrangements were being made to expedite payments to former workers who had not yet undergone prepayment medical check-ups.

Former workers who were still in possession of company property were urged to surrender it. former employees who have outstanding third-party obligations such as loans with lending institutions, were asked to bring letters of consent.

The provisional liquidator has up to February 2017 to make a determination on whether the nickel-copper mining company would be sold to investors or closed down in a process that would include a disposal, by sale, of its entire asset inventory.