Unfair blacklisting amongst top complaints against local banks
Friday, November 29, 2019
Watching over: The Bank of Botswana regulates banking conduct PIC: MORERI SEJAKGOMO
In his report for 2018, released last week, Gabriel Maotwanyane noted that complaints about listing accounted for just more than one in 10 complaints received from bank customers. In 2017, the blacklisting complaints were just six percent of the total.
The Ombudsman office was established by the Bankers Association of Botswana in 2002 to investigate and mediate customer complaints against commercial banks.
Whilst celebrating milestones in inclusivity, with notably P5 billion awarded to vulnerable groups, the report sounds a 'siren' on a dangerous and growing trend: the ballooning use of micro-procurement. That this method, designed for small-scale, efficient purchases, now accounts for a staggering 25% (P8 billion) of total procurement value is not a sign of agility, but a 'red flag'. The PPRA’s warning is unequivocal and must be...