03 Feb 2015

Ministries will be required to implement the Guidelines for the Exercise of Shareholder Oversight over parastatals to strengthen the governance and oversight structures, which should contribute to the overall improvement in their performance.

Presenting the 2015/16 budget speech on February 2, the Minister of Finance and Development Planning, Mr Kenneth Matambo, said the country’s parastatals continued to display uneven performance during the year with some performing satisfactorily while others recorded operational losses. 

He said parastatals which performed satisfactorily included Botswana Telecommunications Corporation Limited (BTCL), National Development Bank (NDB), Botswana Communication Regulatory Authority (BOCRA), Botswana Housing Corporation (BHC), and the Botswana Meat Commission (BMC).

“The BTCL recorded a net profit of P273.6 million in 2013 compared to a net profit of P236.9 million in 2012, due to growth in revenue as a result of increased customer base, especially in the mobile business sector. 

NDB registered a net profit of P45.8 million in 2013 compared to PP40.6 million in 2012 due to initiatives such as Ntlhatlhosa ko morakeng which continued to attract customers. 

With continued demand for services due to the significant growth in the use of the mobile technology, particularly smart phones, BOCRA recorded a net profit of P40.6million in 2013 compared to P31.2million in 2012. 

The BHC net profit declined to P34.9million in 2013 from P50.4million in 2012 due to, amongst other things, the rising finance costs. 

After experiencing hardships in its operations since 2008, the BMC finally recorded a net profit of P25.8million in 2013 compared to a loss of P324.1million in 2012. 

This was mostly boosted by the increased revenue as a result of readmission of the Commission into the EU market during the year,” he explained.

The minister said organisations that continued to experience operational and financial challenges included Botswana Power Corporation (BPC) and Water Utilities Corporation (WUC).

He said BPC recorded a net loss of P1.3billion in 2013 compared to a net loss of P1.1billion in 2012 due to increase in generation, transmission and distribution expenses. 

WUC recorded a net loss of P191.1million in 2013 compared to a loss of P541.6 million in 2012 which the minister said was due to challenges relating to the implementation of government Water Sector Reforms Project, which include increased costs on waste water treatment and distribution, rehabilitation of infrastructure inherited from the district councils, increased staff and training costs, amongst others. ENDS