In a notice of execution from the High Court in Lobatse, the union building popularly known as Babereki House will be sold in an auction on June 30.
"The judgment debtor rights, title, and interest together with all development on a certain piece of land being plot no 871,872,873 and 875 Gaborone in the African Mall, being a three-storey building with fully operational shops and office including basement parking," reads the order from the high court.
BFTU vice president Eric Ditau confirmed to Monitor that they are on the verge of losing Babereki House due to non-payment. "We have called a general meeting scheduled for Palapye this weekend and have invited secretary-generals from all our affiliates to see what can be done," he said. Ditau told Monitor that the bank wanted the union to clear arrears of close to P2 million before the union could start servicing the loan. "The company which built the union building did not finish on time, so we accumulated arrears before we started renting the place out," explained Ditau.
It is understood that the union took a loan of P10 million from NDB to build Babereki House and an additional P3 million from CEDA as a bail out after construction was halted because of an insufficient budget. "This has caused problems for us," acknowledged the BFTU vice president, further adding that all this occurred before the new leadership assumed office.
This is not the first time Babereki House has been placed under public auction. Last year the company, which constructed the building sought a court order to sell the building to recover their money, but the union managed to raise funds to pay off the debt.
