18 Apr 2022

The Komatsu AM600 Cycling Charity Challenge, which will see cyclists pedalling 600km over a period of three days, kicks off in Jwaneng today.

Cyclists will pedal from Jwaneng to Gaborone via Lobatse as day one.

They will take off from Gaborone to Mahalapye on Friday on day two and complete the three-course ride on Saturday from Mahalapye to Gaborone.

During the send-off dinner in Gaborone on Tuesday, First Lady Neo Masisi applauded the AM600 family for commitment to improving livelihoods.

“What you are doing embodies the essence of Motswana and that is the element of Setho, being humane to other human beings,” Masisi noted.

She said the objectives of the Komatsu AM600 cycling challenge aligned well with Vision 2036 and government’s efforts of ensuring a knowledgeable society with relevant quality education.

The first lady premised this on the specific areas that the Komatsu AM600 cycling challenge focused on which included the upliftment of the education and health sector.

The cycle challenge has raised over P1m thus far and the intended beneficiaries include Mokoboxane Primary School, St Joseph’s Primary School, Khwee Clinic, modern ICT Hub in Letlhakane and the Journey of Hope.

The first lady expressed gratitude to sponsors and partners in the previous charity rides saying their efforts were an enabler in children’s future. She said corporate social responsibility had become a critical element in the world of business increasingly.

“Time has come for corporates to invest in social causes which benefit their host communities to ensure that they are not left behind,” Masisi said.

In his remarks, Assistant Minister of Health, Setlhomo Lelatisitswe, expressed gratitude to the AM600 cycling challenge for thinking of the less fortunate especially in these trying times. He said the contribution would go a long way and could not be taken lightly, as it would cushion some of the constraints that government had.

“It is no secret that the health fraternity has been under immense pressure trying to balance between saving our people from the deadly coronavirus while at the same time providing other medical needs for the vast number of other ailments,” he said adding that it is always a relief when corporates show interest in the health fraternity by way of donating.

Komatsu South Africa mining specialist, Michael Botes, said Komatsu was committed to contributing to the betterment of lives in their host communities.

Botes said they strived to ensure that their corporate social initiatives encompassed various demographics of societies noting that they had the same commitment to the environment by safeguarding the ecosystem of natural environments where they operated.

Komatsu Botswana human resources manager Basadi Pheto said the aim was to raise at least P1.5 million for the projects adding that some pledges would be paid later on before the ground-breaking of the projects.

The AM600 Charity Cycling Challenge is a legacy of the late Jwaneng Debswana Mine managing director Albert Milton who was a cycling enthusiast.

His wife Albertinah, also a cycling devotee, continued the legacy to share her husband’s vision of giving back to the community.

The kilometres cycled by riders is representative of Albert’s age, as this year he would have been 60 years, hence the AM600. ENDS