Money talks as Letshego sees key people exit
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Letshego Holdings Limited went through mini transformation in the recent weeks with about eight staff members leaving the employ of the organization through dismissals, retirement and resignations. The developments at Letshego follows recent reports of embezzlement of funds under the pretext of loans at the organization.
Mythri Sambasivan-George, Group Head of Corporate Affairs at Letshego Holdings Limited rubber stamped the organization’s “people commitment strategy” which said does not allow them to share employee information. “Letshego has high regard for employee and employer confidentiality. To this end, we do not discuss the employment record of any individual because to do so breaches that confidence,” she said.
Of more gravity is the company’s decision to fire two finance managers who are Batswana. Their dismissal followed the exit of Head of Audit at the organization. At the moment there is another Motswana finance manager who is serving notice. In the last two months six key personnel in the finance department have left the organization.
Letshego Holding Limited has also demoted the Human Resources Director and was quickly replaced recently. It is not clear why the HR Director was demoted but he is seen as one of those who are irked by the apparent channeling of funds to finance projects in Kenya. There are also suggestions that Letshego headquarters will be moved to South Africa. Letshego in Botswana contributes about 40 percent to the Group’s balance sheet. The position was not advertised.
“As a listed business, Letshego is committed to strong transparency and governance principles, to achieving high levels of employee engagement and to investing in its employees for developmental and capacity reasons. This approach will enable us to sustain our strategy for growth, performance and returns and should benefit our valued team members as well as our customers and other stakeholders in the medium to long term,” Sambasivan-George served this reporter.
She explained that Letshego also invests in “talent mobility” to build and broaden the skill set of the company’s key leadership staff through exposure to other markets and business environments – “for example, local Batswana talent represent Letshego in Kenya, Lesotho and Nigeria today. Further we evaluate all such opportunities as they arise, with our actions premised on strong governance.”
Some had tried to link the mass exodus at Letshego with a recent discovered scam in which loans were fraudulently secured through the names of customers by some staff members. But those in the know dismiss the theory and assert that the departures stem from growing discontent over staff welfare and key decisions affecting the company.
Two months back a paper trail at Letshego had unearthed fraudulent loan applications and transactions littered with the fingerprints of some of the suspended employees.
Information passed to this publication at the time suggested that the concerned employees have been faking loan applications, using the names of genuine customers, only for the money to end up in their (employees) bank accounts.
Over the past two months investigations put the figure at over P1 million. Letshego is the first consumer lending company to be established in Botswana and is still the leading provider of unsecured credit to Batswana. Letshego was established to provide unsecured loans to formally employed clients.
Two of the employees who were suspended from the company have returned to work. A clear indication that there is no evidence linking them to the scam, our sources say. At the time the fraud was discovered five employees were suspended.
The employees, it is understood, prepared loan applications in the region of P20 000, P50 000 and P100 000 in the names of Letshego clients. The management is said to have taken the decision to suspend the employees in order to protect the integrity of the company and the interests of the clients.
Batswana employees at Letshego have in the past voiced out (discretely) on the apparent targeted approach that appears to sideline them. They point to a skewed salary structure that sees locals earning less when compared to expatriates. Those in the Finance department were growing frustrated over this. Just recently an expatriate with less experience was hired and is earning $7000 a month (approximately P77 000) while they range at P17000 a month.
Letshego rewards those at the top handsomely with the Group CEO earning a basic of about P500 000 a month; Letshego CEO pocketing over P300 000, and his COO earning about P250 000 a month. Those below them are questioning the disproportionate salary structure.
Letshego has achieved outstanding results over the past eleven years in terms of customer base within Botswana. But with the latest scam some customers who caught wind of the latest scam at the financial services provider feared whether their names have been used to defraud the company which could erroneously soil their credit rating. This was one of the questions that were posed to Serumola in the questionnaire.
The Pan-African focused micro lender, Letshego exceeded P1 billion in profit before tax, a two percent increase from the P970 million recorded in the prior year, according to the group’s financial results for the year ended December 31, 2015. Managing director, Chris Low had told the media it is the first time their profit before tax exceeded the billion mark with underlying profitability up five percent excluding foreign exchange differences. Some of the employees are said to have remarked that the huge profits were not trickling down to them hence the latest fraudulent escapades.
The Letshego group operates in 10 African countries. Despite strong competition locally, the group disbursed P2.37 billion in new loans which is a seven percent increase from the previous year while in Kenya it recorded a 100 percent increase to P400 million.
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The curtain came down at the PAP session with pomp and FUNFAIR
It was pomp and funfair at the Pan-African Parliament (PAP) on March 18 as the African Cultural Music and Dance Association (ACUMDA) brought the curtains down on the PAP session with a musical performance.
The occasion was the celebration of the Pan-African Parliament Day (PAP Day) which commemorated the inauguration of the first Parliament of the PAP on 18 March 2004 at the African Union Headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
The celebrations took place at the seat of the Parliament in Midrand to “reflect on the journey” as the institution turns 19. The event sought to retrace the origin and context of the establishment of the PAP.
The celebrations included musical performances by ACUMDA and a presentation by Prof. Motshekga Mathole of the Kara Heritage Institute on “Whither Pan-Africanism, African Culture, and Heritage.”
The PAP Day was officially launched in 2021 to educate citizens about the Continental Parliament and ignite conversations about its future in line with its mandate.
The establishment of the PAP among the AU organs signalled a historical milestone and the most important development in the strengthening of the AU institutional architecture. It laid solid groundwork for democratic governance and oversight within the African Union system and provided a formal “platform for the peoples of Africa to get involved in discussions and decision-making on issues affecting the continent.”
The genesis of the PAP can be legally traced back to 1991 with the adoption of the Treaty Establishing the African Economic Community, adopted on June 3, 1991, in Abuja (also known as the Abuja Treaty). This treaty defined the pillars and grounds for realizing economic development and integration in Africa and called for the creation of a continental parliament, among a set of other organs, as tools for the realization of African integration and economic development. This call was reemphasized in the Sirte Declaration of 1999, which called for the accelerated implementation of the provisions of the Abuja Treaty.
PAP celebrated its ten years of existence in March 2014, a year which coincided with the adoption, on June 27, 2014, in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, of the Protocol to the Constitutive Act of the African Union relating to the Pan-African Parliament (PAP Malabo Protocol), which, once in force, will transform the PAP into a legislative body of the AU. It requires a minimum of 28 countries to ratify it before it comes into force.
Therefore, the commemoration of PAP Day serves as a reminder to the decision-makers around the continent to fulfil their commitment to the PAP by ratifying its Protocol, 19 years after sanctioning its establishment. 14 AU member states have so far ratified the Malabo Protocol.
The celebrations of PAP Day coincided with the closing ceremony of the sitting of the PAP Permanent Committees and other organs. The Sitting took place in Midrand, South Africa under the AU theme for 2023, “Accelerating the implementation of African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA)” from 6 to 17 March 2023.
PAP President, H.E. Chief Fortune Charumbira, expressed appreciation to members for their commitment during the two-week engagement.
“We have come to the end of our program, and it is appropriate that we end on a high note with the PAP Day celebrations.
“We will, upon your return to your respective countries, ensure that the work achieved over the past two weeks is transmitted to the national level for the benefit of our citizens,” concluded H.E. Chief Charumbira.
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PAP needs to priorities land issues-Prof Mathole
Prof Motshekga Mathole of the Kara Heritage Institute has advised the Pan-African Parliament (PAP) to prioritise the land issue in the continent if they are to remain relevant.
He said this while addressing the Plenary during the commemoration of PAP Day held at the PAP Chambers in Midrand, South Africa
The PAP Day was officially launched in 2021 to commemorate the inauguration of the first Parliament on 18 March 2004 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Intended as a platform for people of all African states to be involved in discussions and decision-making on problems and challenges facing the continent.
In a speech titled “Whither Pan-Africanism, African Culture, and Heritage,” Prof Mathole stated that for PAP to remain relevant, it must address the continent’s key land dilemma, which he feels is the core cause of all problems plaguing the continent
“If this Parliament is to be taken seriously, ownership of land and natural resources must be prioritized at the national and continental levels. Africans are not poor; they are impoverished by imperialist nations that continue to hold African land and natural resources,” said Prof Mathole.
“When African leaders took power from colonialists, they had to cope with poverty, unemployment, and other issues, but they ignored land issues. That is why Africa as a whole is poor today. Because our land and minerals are still in the hands of colonizers, Africa must rely on Ukraine for food and Europe for medical.”
Prof Mathole believes that the organization of the masses is critical as cultural revolution is the only solution to Africa’s most problems.
“We need a cultural revolution for Africa, and that revolution can only occur if the masses and people are organized. First, we need a council of African monarchs since they are the keepers of African arts, culture, and heritage. We need an African traditional health practitioners council because there is no ailment on the planet that cannot be healed by Africans; the only problem is that Africans do not harvest and process their own herbs,” he said.
Meanwhile, PAP President, H.E. Hon Chief Fortune Charumbira expressed satisfaction with the commitment displayed throughout the two-week period and said the PAP Day celebrations were befitting curtains down to the august event.
“On this high note of our two-week engagement, it is appropriate that we close our program on a high note with PAP celebrations, and I would like to thank everyone for your commitment, and please continue to be committed,” said H.E Hon Chief Charumbira.
PAP’s purpose as set out in Article 17 of the African Union Constitutive Act, is “to ensure the full participation of African people in the development and economic integration of the continent”. As it stands, the mandate of the Parliament extends to consultation and playing an advisory and oversight role for all AU organs pending the ratification protocol.
Also known as the Malabo Protocol, the Protocol to the consultative act of the AU relating to the PAP was adopted at the Assembly of Heads of State and Government summit in June 2014 and is intended to extend the powers of the PAP into a fully-fledged legislative organ. It requires a minimum of 28 countries to ratify it before it comes into force.
The commemoration of the PAP Day, therefore, serves as a reminder to the decision-makers around the continent to fulfil their commitment to the PAP by ratifying its Protocol, 17 years after sanctioning its establishment. 14 AU member states have so far ratified the Malabo Protocol.
The PAP Day commemoration also aims to educate citizens about the PAP and ignite conversations about the future of the continental Parliament in line with its mandate.
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DPP drops Kably threat to kill case
The Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) Chief Whip and Member of Parliament for Letlhakeng/Lephephe Liakat Kably has welcomed the Directorate of Public Prosecution (DPP)’s decision not to prosecute BDP councillor, Meshack Tshenyego who allegedly threatened to kill him. However, the legislator has warned that should anything happen to his life, the state and the courts will have to account.
In an interview with this publication, Kablay said he has heard that the DPP has declined to prosecute Tshenyego in a case in which he threatened to kill him adding that the reasons he received are that there was not enough evidence to prosecute. “I am fine and at peace with the decision not to prosecute over evidential deficits but I must warn that should anything happen to my life both the DPP and the Magistrate will have to account,” Kablay said.
Connectedly, Kably said he has made peace with Tshenyego, “we have made peace and he even called me where upon we agreed to work for the party and bury the hatchet”.
The DPP reportedly entered into a Nolle Prosequi in the matter, meaning that no action would be taken against the former Letlhakeng Sub-district council chairperson and currently councillor for Matshwabisi.
According to the charge sheet before the Court, councilor Tshenyego on July 8th, 2022 allegedly threatened MP Kably by indirectly uttering the following words to nominatedcouncilor Anderson Molebogi Mathibe, “Mosadi wa ga Liakat le ban aba gagwe ba tsile go lela, Mosadi wame le banake le bone ba tsile go lela. E tla re re mo meeting, ka re tsena meeting mmogo, ke tla mo tlolela a bo ke mmolaya.”
Loosely translated this means, Liakat’s wife and children are going to shed tears and my wife and kids will shed tears too. I will jump on him and kill him during a meeting.
Mathibe is said to have recorded the meeting and forwarded it to Kably who reported the matter to the police.
In a notice to the Magistrate Court to have the case against Tshenyego, acting director of Public Prosecutions, Wesson Manchwe cited the nolle prosequi by the director of public prosecution in terms of section 51 A (30) of the Constitution and section 10 of the criminal procedure and evidence act (CAP 08:02) laws of Botswana as reasons for dropping the charges.
A nolle prosequi is a formal notice of abandonment by a plaintiff or prosecutor of all or part of a suit or action.
“In pursuance of my powers under section 51 A (300 of the Constitution and section 10 of the criminal procedure and evidence act (CAP 08:02) laws of Botswana, I do hereby stop and discontinue criminal proceedings against the accused Meshack Tshenyego in the Kweneng Administrative District, CR.No.1077/07/2022 being the case of the State vs Tshenyego,” said Manchwe. The acting director had drafted the notice dropping the charges on 13th day of March 2023.
The case then resumed before the Molepolole Magistrate Solomon Setshedi on the 14th of March 2023. The Magistrate issued an order directing “that matters be withdrawn with prejudice to the State, accused is acquitted and discharged.”