BDC injects P41m to keep Lobatse Clay Works afloat

Last year the iconic company, which is wholly owned by BDC, halted its operations and failed to pay close to 500 employees’ salaries, after years of financial distress. The 26-year-old firm’s revival plans were shattered after failing to get a P60 million cash injection from the Botswana Opportunities Partnership Fund (BOP), which had moved to take up to 80% equity. The BOP, a P500 million private equity fund sponsored by the Botswana Public Officers Pension Fund (BPOPF) and asset management firm, Capital Management Botswana, was the subject of extensive litigation between the two former partners, resulting in a Court of Appeal verdict for the pension fund last year.

In the dispute between the two, planned investments including the LCW deal, fell through the cracks and the Lobatse firm, which had been struggling for years, found itself in dire straits.  BDC head of corporate affairs and strategy, Boitshwarelo Lebang said the corporation remained committed to ensuring that LCW returns to sustainable operations.