Mixed reactions to BTCL shares sale
Lesedi Mkhutshwa | Tuesday February 2, 2016 15:33
Under the Initial Public Offer (IPO), Batswana and citizen owned companies are eligible to buy a minimum of 1,000 shares at P1 each.
At a road show held here recently to market the IPO, a street vendor, Banoki Mbulawa said the idea was great but majority of people would not afford as they earn low incomes and their standard of living is generally poor.
“The price for buying the shares is high and the BTCL could have considered peoples' status because lots of them earn less. For example, people working at Ipelegeng as well as graduates do not earn more than a thousand pula,” said Mbulawa.
Poloko Ogotseng, who was amongst the attendants, said the BTCL has made a good initiative by offering shares to citizens as such an the opportunity can change someone’s life.
The 28 year-old public transport driver, however, pointed out that the minimum amount required for the shares could have been affordable to every Motswana through savings, but they were not given enough time to do so.
“I am a mini bus driver so I am not going to buy the shares because I have already made some other commitments, but to be fair the government has given us an opportunity of a lifetime,” he said.
Ogotseng noted that the educational road shows are going to benefit a lot of attendants because they are going to get clarity about the purchasing of shares.
As for Kellie Olebeng, another street vendor who sells airtime said that he is so determined to buy shares and is aiming to purchase shares worth P3,000 from his savings account. He disclosed that he is not scared of investing in a big company like BTCL because making investments is all about taking risks.
He encouraged Batswana to join him and invest in their future by buying more shares because at the end they are going to reap what they have sown.
When addressing the public, the Minister of Transport and Communications Tshenolo Mabeo said Batswana should buy the BTCL shares because it is open to the citizens of Botswana.
Mabeo indicated that the purpose of the road show is to teach Batswana about the offered shares and for them to have the knowledge about its significance.
He added that parents could also make investments in their children’s lives by buying them shares. Mabeo said the sale of the shares ends on March 11 and advised Batswana to buy the shares before they are transferred to the stock exchange because the pricing will increase.
He said that Batswana could also sell their livestock to invest in the buying of the shares so that they can gain a fortune in future.