26 Jan 2016

The Ministry of Labour and Home Affairs and Construction Industry Trust Fund (CITF) have signed a shareholder compact agreement.

The deal would enhance shareholder oversight and governance of public entities through an effective relationship between the boards and government as a shareholder.

Speaking at the signing ceremony recently, Minister Edwin Batshu, said the event marked a milestone not only for his ministry but for Botswana as a whole because it demonstrated commitment to corporate governance and excellence.

Mr Batshu said this was a testimony to a collective commitment to improving performance in their respective roles following the result of 2012 Cabinet decision that approved guidelines for shareholder oversight towards parastatals.

He said the objective of this decision was to institutionalise a set of consistent practices whereby ministries could exercise effective oversight over parastatals across the whole government spectrum as well as to monitor and evaluate their performance.

The minister said the guidelines were developed because government has identified some challenges in the operations of parastatals.

The challenges included inadequate performance, poor resource management, slow adoption of best corporate governance practices, inadequate coordination in delivery of services, maladministration and unethical practices, he said.

Mr Batshu said through the shareholder compact, they hoped to address challenges and also create a culture of responsibility, transparency and responsiveness.

“The shareholder compact is expected to maximise our core principles of accountability, transparency, compliance and not to micromanage our institutions or stifle them in anyway,” he said.

He said CITF had been successfully addressing the current and future needs of the market especially training of coded welders who were important for mining industry and grass roof thatching.

Furthermore, he said the oversight role extended beyond the usual performance monitoring as it also ensured that the strategic intent of the ministry and its parastatals were aligned as outlined in the shareholder compact they signed with CITF.

He said the continued good performance of his ministry and improved contribution of CITF in rapid skills development to the building construction and allied industries sector depended on effective and efficient implementation of this shareholder compact.

CITF board chairperson Mr Philemon Ramatsui said it was significant that the signing ceremony be done at the beginning of the year as it would guide the activities of CITF throughout the year and beyond.

He said the agreement would assist in evaluating effectiveness, efficiency and accountability of CITF in regard to skills needs in Botswana.

Permanent Secretary Ministry of Labour and Home Affairs, Ms Pearl Matome, said government required that shareholders be signed since 2012 although it had taken the ministry four years to do so.

Ms Matome said government was  a major shareholder and this meant that CITF and other stakeholders must deliver the mandate of the government.

She said the agreement was a testimony of a relationship and commitment that the two entities were prepared to offer to Batswana. Ends