11 Oct 2015

The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has recommended that the BTCL privatisation be postponed to a further date instead of the initial December 2015 to reduce the risks that may arise if it is done in haste.

The PAC suggested that they would sit with the Minister of Transport and Communication to extend the deadline for the privatisation process.

The committee stated that they would be assisting the company while in the same process assisting the committee to deliver quality service to the nation.

BTCL managing director, Mr Paul Taylor, had informed the committee that it was possible to complete the privatisation process , but there were a lot of challenges.
Mr Taylor agreed that postponement of the deadline would be a welcome decision, however, noting that they had to engage other stakeholders to ensure the process runs smoothly.

He stated that the company was half way in its three-year strategy, which was crafted with privatisation in mind. 

The managing director said privatisation would drive a wide base of ownership around the country by distributing shares to Batswana, adding that government had taken a decision that only citizen owned companies would own shares.

He said they would distribute a prospectus with the help of the ministry and address kgotla meetings to communicate the process to Batswana.

He explained that the ministry had set aside P8 million for the privatisation process, adding that he believed the amount was sufficient.

Responding to other issues, he said BTCL was lagging behind in the implementation of the 4G data service, however noting that they had acquired a license to offer the service.

Mr Taylor revealed that they had reached out to the one of the biggest worldwide provider of mobile telecommunication, Vodafone to assist them reach out the whole world and be competitive.

He said BTCL was in the process of automating and consolidating its processes to improve efficiency towards the attainment of their strategy of delivering quality services. Ends