21 Feb 2016

The acting Minister of Trade and Industry, Advocate Sadique Kebonang has signed a shareholder compact with board chairpersons of parastatals under his ministry.

Speaking during the signing ceremony, advocate Kebonang said the signing was important as it would identify key performance areas for easy evaluation.

He stated that the purpose of the shareholder compact was to define the mandate from the main shareholder, government, to boards of parastatals and informing boards of the shareholder’s objectives and expectations.

He said the compact was also designed to enhance shareholder oversight and governance of parastatals through an effective relationship between the boards and the shareholder.

In an interview, advocate Kebonang said they seek to identify key performance measures for all, adding that they also seek to promote good governance and transparency.

He said the role of his ministry was to provide a conducive environment for growing the economy and creating wealth through investment, industrialisation, economic diversification and trade. He added that all bottlenecks that impede business would have to be removed.

He noted that all parastatals under his ministry fall under one portfolio, and that they should link and close the gap between the government and parastatals and work together for the good of the country.

He said through the shareholder compact they would be able to eliminate conflict and harmonise working relationships.

For his part, the chairperson of Botswana Investment and Trade Centre (BITC), Mr Victor Senye thanked the ministry and leadership for coming up with the initiative to put together a shareholder compact.

Mr Senye said the compact signing signifies a milestone as far as issues of performance and governance were concerned, adding that the document would provide a unified goal where they would be no differences between the board and the ministry.

He said in the past they had been caught between the independence of the board and aspirations of the ministry as shareholders, saying they would now be guided by the compact.

The signing was conducted with the Citizen Entrepreneurial Development Agency (CEDA), Botswana Bureau of Standards (BOBS), Local Enterprise Authority (LEA), Botswana Investment and Trade Centre (BITC), Competition Authority, Botswana Development Corporation (BDC), Selibe-Phikwe Economic Diversification Unit (SPEDU) and Gambling Authority, Companies and Intellectual Property Authority (CIPA) and Botswana Bureau of Standards. Ends