• The parastatals operates without a board
• Its expenditure raises questions
• Anonymous member of public drags BOTC before DCEC
The Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry Vincent Seretse has been fingered in the alleged corruption, abuse of office and maladministration happening at Botswana Trade Commission (BOTC).
Appearing before Parliamentary Committee on Statutory Bodies and State Enterprises, BOTC Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Mphoentle Tamasiga stated that Seretse gave him powers to run the daily operations of the commission, which currently does not have a board of directors.
Tamasiga says he came up with a temporary structure that saw him single-handedly recruit 5 executive employees whom he had been given powers to headhunt by the previous board. “The Minister told me verbally that the board has been disbanded and I can manage the day to day operations of the commission,’ he told the committee, further explaining that he was instructed to engage the minister should there be any policy matters. The five top executive posts which are the only posts filled by the commission were filled without giving other Batswana an opportunity to apply for those posts according to Tamasiga since they were not advertised.
The committee also established that the hired executive staff members were not interviewed as the board was nonexistent and since they were employed solely by the CEO. When further quizzed if there was an approved structure for the commission, he admitted that there wasn’t. The previous board that was fired by Minister Seretse was chaired by Katane Sithole. That board and was dismissed in March 2016 according to Tamasiga and since then the commission has been operating without the board of directors.
The newly established commission that was allocated P9.9 million for the 2016/17 financial year shocked the commission when it stated that for five (5) staff members it is paying P79 000 monthly rental, which translates to P948 000 annually.
Tamasiga blamed the previous board for the lease which he says was entered into when he was not yet in the employment of the commission. “It’s a three (3) year lease, without an option to terminate,” he stated further stating that he is not comfortable with the lease he inherited. BOTC is currently housed at Masa Centre in the new Gaborone CBD. As per the lease the commission pays P948 000 a year in rental for five (5) people and by the end of the three year lease it will have parted with P2 844 000.
Tamasiga who could not stand the intense questioning from the committee was saved by Guma Moyo, the Chairperson of the committee who told him that what he was saying under oath might have him criminally charged. “You are going to jail,” Guma warned Tamasiga. Giving him the parting shot Guma told Tamasiga, “You and the minister are doing this deliberately. You are enjoying this since, as you say, you are taking risks.” Since its inception the commission has not done anything yet that could justify the tax payers money pumped into it, the legislators said. The parliamentary committee ordered the commission to come back and submit a report.
The deliberations that the committee had with BOTC confirmed the suspicions of an anonymous Motswana who had written a letter to the committee detailing the alleged maladministration at the commission. When starting the proceedings Guma Moyo read the letter and asked Tamasiga to confirm if the contents of the letter were correct. However the CEO denied the allegations.
The letter accused the CEO of appointing the executive team without the involvement and approval of the board, without conducting any interviews, without any approved organizational structure and no developed job descriptions within the commission. “Save for the CEO’s remuneration package, the board had not determined any other remuneration packages for any positions in the Botswana Trade Commission,” it stated.
The writer of the letter says the acts of the CEO symbolize corruption, maladministration and abuse of public office and therefore should be investigated. The same letter was submitted to the Director General of the Directorate on Corruption and Economic Crimes (DCEC) and the office of the Ombudsman on 8th July 2016 for their action, it states.
