OBRS threatens jobs at CIPA
Business
As the world goes digital and man power is replaced with the power of technology and its perks, the new bill presented and approved by parliament to facilitate for the online registration of companies by Minister of Trade Investment and Industry Bogolo Kenewedo is set to come to live towards the end of the year.
While it is not evident as to how many employees will be trained for the use of new programme, The Chief Executive Officer, Conductor Masena of CIPA explained that it is too early to state on how many staff will be utilized. The Governments of Botswana and New Zealand are said to have signed a Memorandum of Understanding in 2016, in which a New Zealand Companies Office (NZCO) agreed to assist with the implementation of the online business Registration System (OBRS). The New Zealand Government will be providing the Software at no cost to CIPA, NZCO is noted to have appointed a company called Foster Moore to build the system that will reach CIPA’s specifications and requirements.
The CIPA CEO explained that as a customer oriented organization it is in their interest to ensure that a sufficient number of employees will be deployed. This is to ensure that the turnaround target for their registration which is expected to be achieved in less than 24 hours is achieved for all customers.
As a member of the Corporate Registers Forum (CRF) he highlights that they have had the benefit of riding off the experiences of similar sized organizations that have implemented similar systems. The CEO further highlighted that they have learnt that it is essential to re-deploy and re-train some officers to complete the back-end activities that are necessary to complete the registration process.
Out of a total of 91 employees, it is expected that some officers will remain in their current roles assisting customers that are not computer literate, whilst some may be redeployed to other related functions such as Compliance. “It is worth noting that CIPA would focus more on compliance to the Companies Act, by invoking previously less utilized provisions. This action though will need more human capital to do inspections and spot checks on companies at both their registered office and Principal place of business,” he noted.
OBRS which will be completely online will have customers performing many transactions from the comfort of their homes or businesses anywhere in the world. The online system will include but not limited to, registration of companies and business names, submission of annual returns, submission notices and changes. The new system will facilitate for Credit cards, debit cards, and mobile money services and also an engine that provides for an option to search for company information online at no cost.
The system will enable CIPA to register companies and business names in a matter of hours instead of the current 5 days. In addition to the above, the system will be integrated with Omang for verification purposes. Masena emphasizes that there will be no need for customers to certify their certificates since all certificates will be viewable online.
He added that there will absolutely be no need to visit CIPA offices for company related services, citing that they however appreciate that some customers may not have internet access, thus the provision for self-service kiosks within the now operating CIPA offices. He added that they will in these kiosks have staff assisting those who are not computer literate. Masena emphasized that this translates to a dramatic improvement in the ease of doing business for both local and foreign investors.
Even though there is introduction of doing the easy registrations, all companies and businesses will be expected to re-register once we roll out the system. “This will enable us to have relevant, up-to-date information on the new system – this is very important for procuring entities and any other parties that use our data to make business decisions.” As a registry, CIPA notes that it is important to assure the business community of the integrity of the data in the organization’s system.
As there will be need to re-register existing companies, CIPA has made a business decision that it will waive all overdue annual returns for companies that do re-register during the re-registration period. This though does not mean there will be no fees to be paid for re-registration he explained that the waiver is just there to encourage re-registration uptake. This is provided for in the Re registration Acts that were approved by Parliament this week.
Please note that the re-registration does not create a new legal entity as the company that re-registers shall continue to be in the register of companies; the re-registration does not affect the property, rights, or obligations of the company that existed prior to re-registration.
New companies therefore will pay for the application process while the please all companies that reregister would be exempted from payment and submission of annual returns hence a saving of P300.00 for companies that are reregistering.
It is explained that since the re-registration would be done through an online platform, companies would be able to validate the data preloaded on the system and be able to reregister at the comfort and convenience of their time, given the 12 months grace period for re-registration.
Business
CA SALES revenues rose to R9.5 billion
The Botswana and Johannesburg Stock Exchange listed distributor of fast-moving consumer goods
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Business
Grit divests from Letlole La Rona
Grit Services Limited, a member of the pan African real estate group, London Stock Exchange listed Grit Real Estate Income Group is divesting from Letlole La Rona Limited (LLR), a local real estate company established by government investment arm Botswana Development Corporation over a decade ago.
The Board of Directors of Letlole La Rona Limited this week announced in a statement to Unitholders that Grit Services Limited (‘Grit’) has informed them of its intention to exit its investment in the company.
Grit has been a material shareholder in LLR since 2019. On 07 March 2023, Grit sold 6 421 000 linked units, representing 2.29% of the Company’s total securities in issue, at a market value of BWP 22 537 710.
This trade follows previous sales of 6.79% in December 2022, as communicated to Unitholders on 10 January 2023, as well as a further sale of 4.78% (representing 13 347 068 linked units) on 24 February 2023 to various shareholders.
In aggregate, Grit has sold 13.9% shareholding in the Letlole La Rona between December 2022 and March 2023, resulting in current shareholding of 11.25% in the Company.
Letlole La Rona said in the statement that the exit process will take place in an orderly manner so as to maintain stability of the Company’s share price.
The statement explained that Grit’s sale of its entire shareholding in LLR is in line with its decision to exit investments where it does not have majority control, or where it has significant exposure to currencies other than US dollar, Euro or hard-currency-pegged revenue streams.
“Grit has announced similar decisions pertaining to certain of its hospitality assets in Mauritius recently. The Company would like to advise Unitholders that it remains focused on long-term value delivery to all stakeholders” LLR said
In July last year as part of their Go-to-Africa strategy Letlole La Rona acquired an initial 30% equity stake in Orbit Africa Logistics, with an option to increase this investment to 50%. OAL is a special purpose vehicle incorporated in Mauritius, owning an industrial asset in a prime industrial node in Nairobi, Kenya.
The co-investment was done alongside a wholly owned subsidiary of London listed Grit. The Orbit facility is situated on a prime industrial site on Mombasa Road, the principal route south of Nairobi center, serving the main industrial node, the port of Mombasa and the industrial town of Athi River and is strategically located 11 kilometers south of the international airport and 9.6 kilometers from the Inland Container Depot.
Grit shareholding in Letlole La Rona was seen as strategic for LLR, for the company to leverage on Grit’s already existing continental presence and expand its wings beyond Botswana borders as already delivered by Kenya transaction.
Media reports have however suggested that LLR and Grit have since late last year had fundamental disagreements on how to go about the Go-to-Africa strategy amongst other things, fuelled by alleged Botswana government interference on the affairs of LLR.
Government through LLR founding shareholder – Botswana Development Corporation has a controlling stake of around 40 percent in the company. Government is the sole shareholder of Botswana Development Corporation.
Letlole La Rona recently released their financial results for the six months ended December 2022, revenue increased by 4% to P50.2 million from P48.4 million in the prior comparative six months, whilst operating profit was up 8% to P36.5 million. Profit before tax of P49.7 million was reported, an increase of 8% on the prior comparative six months.
“We are encouraged by the strong results, notwithstanding a challenging economic environment. Our performance was mainly underpinned by annual lease escalations, our quality tenant base and below average market vacancy levels, especially in our warehouse portfolio,” Kamogelo Mowaneng, Letlole La Rona Chief Executive Officer commented.
LLR reported a weighted average lease expiry period of 3.3 years and escalation rates averaging 6.8% per annum for the period ended 31 December 2022.Its investment portfolio value increased by 14% year-on-year to close the period at P1.4 billion, mainly driven by the acquisition of a 30% stake in OAL in July 2022.
The Company also recorded a significant increase in other income, predominantly due to foreign exchange gains on the OAL shareholder loan. “We continue to explore pipeline opportunities locally, and regionally in line with our Go-to-Africa strategy and our interest remains on value-accretive investments,” Mowaneng said.
An interim distribution of 9.11 thebe per linked unit was declared on the 6th of February 2023 for the half-year period to 31 December 2022, comprising of a dividend of 0.05 thebe and debenture interest of 9.06 thebe per linked unit which will be paid to linked unit holders registered in the books of the Company at the close of business on 24 February 2023.
Business
Stargems Group establishes Training Center in BW
Internationally-acclaimed diamond manufacturing company StarGems Group has established the Stargems Diamond Training Center which will be providing specialized training in diamond manufacturing and evaluation.
The Stargems Diamond Training Institute is located at the Stargems Group Botswana Unit in Gaborone.
“In accordance with the National Human Resource Development Strategy (NHRDS) which holds the principle that through education and skills development as well as the strategic alignment between national ambitions and individual capabilities, Botswana will become a prosperous, productive and innovative nation due to the quality and efficacy of its citizenry. The Training Centre will provide a range of modules in theory and in practice; from rough diamond evaluation to diamond grading and polishing for Batswana, at no cost for eight weeks. The internationally- recognized certificate offered in partnership with Harry Oppenheimer Diamond Training School presents invaluable opportunities for Batswana to access in the diamond industry locally and internationally. The initiative is an extension of our Corporate Social Investment to the community in which we operate,” said Vishal Shah, Stargems Group Managing Director, during the launch of the Stargems Diamond Training Center.
In order to participate in this rare opportunity, interested candidates are invited to submit a police clearance certificate and a BGCSE certificate only to the Stargems offices. Students who excel in these programs will have the chance to be onboarded by the Stargems Group. This serves as motivation for them to go through this training with a high level of seriousness.
“Community empowerment is one of our CSR principles. We believe that businesses can only thrive when their communities are well taken of. We are hoping that our presence will be impactful to various communities and economies. In the six countries that we are operating in, we have contributed through dedicating 10% of our revenues during COVID-19 to facilitate education, donating to hospitals and also to NGOs committed to supporting women and children living with HIV. One key issue that we are targeting in Botswana is the rate of unemployment amongst the youth. We are looking forward to working closely with the government and other relevant authorities to curb unemployment,” said Shah.
Currently, Stargems Group has employed 117 Batswana and they are looking forward to growing the numbers to 500 as the company grows. Majority of the employees will be graduates from the Stargems Diamond Training Center. This initiation has been received with open arms by the general public and stakeholders. During the launch, the Minister of Minerals and Energy, Honorable Lefoko Moagi, stated that the ministry fully endorses Stargems Diamond Training and will work closely with the Group to support and grow the initiative.
“As a ministry, we see this as an game changer that is aligned with one of the United Nations’ Six Priority Sustainable Development Goals, which is to Advance Opportunity and Impact for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI). What Stargems Group is launching today will have a huge impact on the creation of employment in Botswana. An economy’s productivity rises as the number of educated workers increases as its skilled workmanship increases. It is not a secret that low skills perpetuate poverty and widen the inequality gap, therefore the development of skills has the potential to contribute significantly to structural transformation and economic growth by enhancing employability and helping the country become more competitive. We are grateful to see the emergence of industry players such as Stargems Group who have strived to create such opportunities that mitigate the negative effects of COVID-19 on the economy,” said the Minister of Minerals and Energy.