04 Nov 2021

Chobe Enclave Community Trust (CECT) has been commended for managing to survive challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Speaking at CECT Annual General Meeting, a Chobe-based attorney, Mr Jost Isaac said the trust, just like any other entity, was affected by COVID-19, but managed to scale the challenges. He further lauded CECT trustees and management for appointing a different audit firm annually, which he said indicated that they were transparent in their operations. 

Stressing that an audit was important as CECT manages community funds, Mr Isaac applauded the trust for signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Salambala in Namibia, because the two countries shared natural resources. 

He however, noted that after 27 years of existence, CECT should be running its own businesses, cut out the middleman and start working towards localisation, all of which he appreciated however, could not be done overnight. 

Mr Isaac advised CECT to float expression of interest for strategic partners, adding that careful attention should however be paid not to partner with investors involved in money laundering. 

He also advised on a short-term partnership as the trust should be working towards localisation. He thanked the government for the re-introduction of hunting in Botswana and implored CECT to diversify in order to improve income generation and job creation.

Mr Clive Zimunya of Alliant CPA Associates said the audit report was unqualified, as CECT financial performance and cash flows for the year ended in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standard for Small and Medium-sized entities and the requirements of the Trust Property Control Act. 

Giving a breakdown of CECT financial position as at December 2020, Mr Zimunya said the revenue increased from P5 million in 2019 to P9 million in 2020, mainly due to the hunting quota. 

In his report, CECT manager, Mr Moses Sinchembe said the trust had 32 permanent employees, 30 of which were members of the Chobe Enclave area, while CECT and its partners, Linyanti Bush Camps and Ngoma Lodge have employed 107 employees. Mr Sinchembe said the trust had five vehicles for specific purposes and eight tractors, which were distributed in the Enclave villages. Ends