• 85 % of services can’t survive without BCL mine• Over 50 % (of 39 089) unemployment in the region • Temporary closure gobbles over P749 million, minus creditors’ debts• No socio-economic impact study, no environmental impact assessmen An independent investigation on the impact of the closure of BCL mine conducted by Business Botswana (BB) has concluded that “the town is not yet ready to operate without BCL as the anchor, therefore making the issue of total closure of the mine non-viable. The situation could have been managed better if socio economic and environmental impact studies were done to guide the process.” The report, released on Monday, criticised government for mishandling the liquidation of the mine which instantly rendered over 6 000 wokers jobless on October 09, 2016. No consultations, socio-economic or environmental impact assessment was conducted prior to the decision to close the mine, the report found. Although they approved the Polaris II strategy, which has been heavily criticised, BB investigators found it to be medium to long term and narrowly focused on BCL, and therefore recommended development of short term strategies to have an immediate cushioning effect of the Selibe Phikwe economy. "These include relocating some government functions…