The 2015 movers and shakers
Pauline Dikuelo | Friday December 18, 2015 12:44
January
The year started off with a dispute between PPADB and Zac Construction Company after the procuring entity declined to award Zac Construction P330 million infrastructure development contract for the Ministry of Lands and Housing in Metsimotlhabe Block 4.
February
Auditor General report revealed a mess at the national airline, Air Botswana indicating that it is grappling with issues of maladministration and general malpractice, which had negatively impacted on its profit.
Government owned business and development financer, Botswana Development Corporation began a major restructuring exercise aimed at transforming the organisation into a profitable and sustainable development finance institution.
March
Amidst the liquidity uncertainties, which besieged the banking sector, Bank of Botswana moved to ease the prevailing tight liquidity conditions in the industry by releasing P2.3 billion into the market. The country was shocked to wake up to news that the ‘Postman’ Pele Moleta had resigned as the CEO of BotswanaPost, a position he held since 2008. However, sources within the parastatal revealed that he would be joining Barclays Bank. International resort hotel chain, Sun International announced plans to acquire hotel and gaming company Peermount group that owns hotels and casinos in South Africa and Botswana in a R9.43 billion (P7.73 billion) deal.
April
The jewellery arm of a De Beers Sight holder group, KGK Diamond Group got dragged before a New York court on charges of selling fake jewellery, fake gemstones, undisclosed synthetic diamonds and overstated gold.
Botswana’s newest entrant into the life insurance industry, Bramer Life got rocked by a financial scandal at its Mauritian parent company, which resulted in the NBFIRA placing the local firm under statutory management.
May
The High Court granted an order for operations of the troubled Kingdom Bank Africa Limited to be wound up after a forensic audit found the bank to be insolvent.
It was in this same month that government deferred royalty payments for the struggling copper mines as part of efforts to save jobs in the mining industry, which was hit hard by weak international commodity prices. The country’s two privately owned copper mines, Discovery Metals and African Copper, were saved from paying royalties for up to a year.
The Botswana Confederation of Commerce Industry and Manpower (BOCCIM) announced that they would be changing their name to Business Botswana as part of a major restructuring exercise aimed at broadening their mandate.
June
Bramer Life Insurance announced they have cut ties with its Mauritian majority shareholder and replaced them with a local private equity fund, Botswana Opportunity Partnership (BOP). All four units at the Morupule B Power Station started running as BPC continued to make short-term remedial measures to keep the lights on.
July
A new investment firm, Afinitas, listed 213 million shares at P1 per share on the Botswana Stock Exchange despite its Initial Public Offer (IPO) being heavily under-subscribed.
The harsh trading environment forced Kgalagadi Breweries (KBL) to close down production activities at its opaque brewery operations in Lobatse impacting on 88 jobs.
The 196-roomed Gaborone Sun Hotel changes to Avani Gaborone Hotel and Casino while BOCCIM officially changed to Business Botswana.
August
Three months after grossing over P600m from selling on the JSE, Choppies directors Ramachandran Ottapath and Farouk Ismail were in line for another bumper P452m pay cheque, taking their earnings from financial dealings to over a billion Pula since May 2015.
September
Bramer Life, which has been under statutory management following a financial scandal at its Mauritian shareholder company, re-branded and launched as Bona Life. Following the departure of Pele Moleta, BotswanaPost Board of Directors announced the appointment of Cornelius Ramatlhakwane as the new chief executive of the post. The country’s largest pension fund, BPOPF bought a 20 percent stake in oil company Puma Energy Botswana for P300 million.
October
The Chief Executive Officer of Business Botswana, Maria Machailo-Ellis leaves the organisation to take up a position at the International Labour Organisation (ILO) in the Bureau of Employers Activities.
November
Botswana made it again into history books, after the world’s second largest diamond was recovered at Karowe Mine. The 1,111-carat stone follows the 3,106-carat Cullinan diamond, which was found at the Cullinan mine in South Africa in 1905. Barely some months after leaving BotswanaPost as chief executive and joining Barclays Bank, Moleta tendered his resignation from the bank without stating reasons.
December
World Bank pledges almost P3 billion in loans to fund a string of projects in Botswana, headlined by investments in water and renewable energy, private sector support and other socio-economic upliftment initiatives.
Asian Joint Venture Japan’s Marubeni and South Korean Posco Energy win P8.1 billion Morupule B expansion tender in which they have to expand the power station by a further 300MW.