Botswana Fibre Networks officially closed and handed over the Kang to Hukuntsi optic fibre expansion project, coupled with the Contractors Corporate Social Initiative (CSI) donation initiative on the 16th October 2020 at Hukuntsi Kgotla. The ceremony was officiated by the Minister of Transport and Communications, Honourable Thulagano Segokgo.

In his keynote address, our Minister of Transport & Communications indicated that the project is part of the many initiatives that are included in the National ICT (Maitlamo) Policy, which was approved by parliament in 2007. The policy provides a clear roadmap for transforming our economy and the lives of our people through the effective use of ICTs. The implementation of the policy, which started over a decade ago, resulted in the Government connecting villages and communities together through 10 000 kilometres of optical fibre. This partnership has contributed an excess of five thousand 5 000 kilometers of optic fibre to this ring that connects villages around the country. 

“The commissioning of this infrastructure empowers young people in this region, to use their ingenuity, which I know they have, to think outside the box, to find better ways to transact business and socialise. It challenges web designers to provide their communities with platforms to generate wealth from tourism, indigenous knowledge and natural resources. It should also inspire those with programming skills to develop systems and applications. Those with a flair for creative writing should saturate the internet with stories about our beautiful sceneries and unique culture. Let me once again reiterate that my ministry remains committed to network and connect communities to high-speed, high-capacity internet. I implore all service providers to set affordable and reasonable prices for their products and services” said the Minister.

The project was sponsored by the Government through the Ministry of Transport and Communications. The scope included the construction, installation, and commissioning of the optical fibre cable from Kang to Hukuntsi enabling the provision of state-of-the-art services in a number of villages being Tshane, Lokgwabe, Lehututu, and Hukuntsi which are all connected to the optic fibre cable. The villages have now been enabled to provide internet services that are at par with those offered in other parts of the country in places like Gaborone and other developed towns and villages. Furthermore, this project had created employment to at least 36 local people from the respective areas during the project deployment period. 

BoFiNet partnered with Cletem Electrical (Pty) Ltd for the construction of the Kang to Hukuntsi optic fibre project. The project was completed in July 2019. As part of the agreement between BoFiNet and the main contractor (Cletem Electrical), there was a requirement for the contractor to come up with a corporate social responsibility initiative that will have a positive impact on the community. Cletem Electrical identified and donated a satellite office to the Botswana Police Service in Hukuntsi. The donation consists of a portacabin office with three furnished offices located at Hukuntsi Kgotla, with LAN cabling (fibre reticulation works) installation. In complementing the contractor’s efforts, BoFiNet will donate internet connectivity to the office at a speed of 10 Mbps for 12 months including the connection of three desktop computers.