The revelations were made in Parliament this week when Trade and Entrepreneurship minister, Tiroeaone Ntsima, responded to a question on the rot at development finance institution. He revealed to legislators that the agency lent millions of pula to its current landlord in 2017 instead of purchasing property to house its headquarters. “CEDA moved to its current premises (Four Thirty Square, Plot 54350, Philip Matante Road, CBD in 2017 on a five-year lease,” Ntsima told Parliament. “The agency is on a monthly rental of P485, 430.00 excluding VAT with annual escalation at eight percent. The total rental amount paid on the building over the past five years is P42 882 452.54 up to December 2024.”
The minister revealed that building is owned by Estate Property Investments (Pty) Ltd., a 100% citizen-owned company. According to Ntsima, the company was granted a loan amounting to P30 million in September 2017 for finishing the building and the loan was fully repaid in August 2022. In another CEDA spending, the minister revealed that the agency purchased an executive house for the CEO at Extension 11, Gaborone, from the Botswana Development Corporation (BDC). He disclosed that the acquisition was done in a public auction at a price of P9.6 million including VAT, auctioneer's fees, transfer fees and valuation costs. “As CEDA was a participant at the public auction sale, it did not engage any estate agent to do the transaction on its behalf, instead a senior CEDA employee was the one representing the agency in the bidding duly authorised by the board of directors,” he said. Ntsima also told Parliament that the agency spent P3.2 million to refurbish the property including re-roofing, fixing the flooring, rebuilding parameter walls that had been damaged by overgrown trees, and other structural works that needed to be carried out.
