10 Apr 2018

Members of Parliament have expressed support for the Companies Re-Registration Bill of 2018 which was tabled for second reading on Monday by the Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry, Ms Bogolo Kenewendo.

The minister said the Bill’s objective was to allow for existing companies to migrate accurate and reliable data to a new Online Business Registration System (OBRS), aimed at improving the efficiency of business registration in Botswana.

MP for Takatokwane, Mr Ngaka Ngaka welcomed the Bill, saying enacting the law would give the public an option to register companies online and help reduce congestion at the Registrar of Companies offices.

The Botswana Democratic Party legislator called for the OBRS to be developed in a manner which would make it easy for the public to do online business registration with ease.

He however complained that the P900 penalty for businesses which default to submit company returns was too steep and should be reduced.

Though he also supported the Bill, Ghanzi North MP Mr Noah Salakae however expressed concern that the government Information Communications System (ICT) could hamper the effectiveness of OBRS should it not be upgraded.

“I think we should ask the Minister of Transport and Communications to inform us about the state of the readiness of our ICT system to take over this job,” said the legislator.

MP for Thamaga-Kumakwane, Mr Tshenolo Mabeo hailed the move to introduce online company registration as a right step forward. 

The legislator however asked for upgrading of the government ICT system to enable successful implementation of e-government across various government departments.

Nata-Gweta legislator, Mr Polson Majaga pointed that enacting the proposed legislation would facilitate the ease of doing business in this country.

“If we could ease the registration of companies and company related processes, a lot of young Batswana would find it easier to register companies which would lead to employment creation,” he said.

MP for Tonota, Mr Thapelo Olopeng was among the MPs who pointed out that the government ICT system should be improved to a standard where it would be easy for the public to register companies online.

The Bill was passed to Committee Stage on April 9. ENDS