Finding A Job Is A Job In Itself!
Lebogang Motubudi
Account Manager, Careerpool
We have all been there at one point or another in our lives, job hunting. It’s not the easiest of feats to complete despite the ease with which the words, “go get a job!” may roll off the tongues of our significant other or family members.
In reality, finding a job is a job in itself! Information is your greatest ally because if you don’t know who is hiring then you are forced to go door-to-door dropping off your CV with companies in the hope that someone will say, “what luck, we were actually talking about hiring someone with your exact skillset just this morning!” Not the likeliest of scenarios as I’m sure you’d agree. So how do we collected this much needed information? Newspapers of course.
This has been the space in which you are guaranteed to find up-to-the-week information about companies that have vacancies. But there’s a catch. Which paper do you buy? Employers have a choice of advertising on any newspaper they choose. Your larger companies with bigger advertising budgets can foot the bill to advertise across multiple papers in any given week.
They do this to increase the reach of the vacancies they are advertising because they don’t know which paper the perfect candidate prefers to read. The job seeker doesn’t have the luxury of knowing what and where vacancies will be advertised, so forced to buy as many newspapers as they can afford for as long as they are looking for a job.
This is the beauty of online job boards. Their purpose is to help you find a job whilst saving you time and money. Online job boards are websites that connect the employer to the employee by sharing up-to-the-minute information. They provide a space where the employers can advertise vacancies in their company that job seekers can find in a central location.
These sites have been around for almost over 15 years now and finally in Botswana we have developed one for our market, Careerpool. This is a job board that will revolutionize the manner in which employers and employees share information with one another. With the cost ranging from negligible to nothing.
As a job seeker you now don’t need to purchase multiple newspapers and troll them for jobs that have been advertised. Careerpool now offers a central location where all available vacancies are listed for you to peruse at your convenience, through whatever device you have at your disposal with internet connectivity.
The timing couldn’t be more perfect for this technology as the telecommunications providers fight to provide the most affordable data for their clients. So this means searching for a job online will not burn a hole in your pocket. Careerpool and other international job boards of its kind boats exciting electronic recruitment functions for both employer and employee. For the job seeker, they can upload their CV to the site and setup job alerts.
This function allows the user to input their desired field of expertise and request to be alerted by mail of all jobs advertised on Careerpool that require the said expertise. So now you are automating your job searching minimizing the work involved!
The job adverts literally come to you on your device wherever you are in the world. True convenience and tangible cost cutting for the job seeker like they have never before seen or experienced. As now the time spent going to the site to check for advertised jobs is brought to a minimal. This kind of convenience is enjoyed by the employer as well.
The job adverts they post on Careerpool are guaranteed to get to the right people within the desired time as a result of them advertising on a centralized location where job seekers are present and have set about automating the process of receiving information on relevant vacancies. It is peace of mind that the fraction of the budget spent advertising on Careerpool will yield the desired result, people knowing about the vacancies and applying accordingly. The e-recruitment functions don’t end there.
I can’t tell you how many companies are struggling with the proper management of the CV’s that they receive on a daily basis. Through no fault of their own, mounds and mounds of CV’s pile up in offices and on desks in human resources departments. CV’s of people who were sent out of the comfort of their homes to, “go find a job!” by loved ones.
Hoping and praying that they are in luck and there is a position available for them at your company. This isn’t always true, in fact almost never. If companies do accept their CV’s they just join the pile of obscurity and are lost amongst all the others that came before it. But here’s the thing, your skill and experience might be of great value to the company at a later stage but now finding you in the heaps of non-impressive CV’s is a tall task for any practitioner.
Careerpool allows employers the opportunity to start their own digital talent pool within Careerpool. A talent pool that belongs to only them. When companies place adverts they can instruct candidates to apply directly to the site thereby growing this pool. Once the advert is closed and the candidate has been selected the unsuccessful candidates don’t get thrown out into the CV graveyard. Now they will form the basis of your talent pool.
A pool that you can come back to at a later stage with a new vacancy, if the system, instructed by you, deems they have fulfilled the minimum requirements outlined in your advert. The candidates who had previously applied and were unsuccessful may just be the perfect candidates for upcoming jobs. Nifty right? There is a fractional cost option to advertise jobs online through sites like Careerpool. They have a great reach and appeal with job seekers.
Not to mention the e-recruitment functions that go beyond just advertising. It’s easy to see why job board technology is here to revolutionize the recruitment process forever. It takes the work, out of finding a job! So whether job seeker or hr practitioner, search www.careerpoolbotswana.com, the job board designed for Batswana to reap the benefits of this world wide technological advancement.
Business
LLR transforms from Company to Group reporting
Botswana Stock Exchange listed diversified real estate company, Letlole La Rona Limited (“LLR” or “the Company” or “the Group”), posted its first set of group financial statements which comprise the Company and Group consolidated accounts, which show strong financial performance for the six months ended 31 December 2023, with improvements across all key metrics.
The Company commenced the financial year with the appointment of a Deputy Chairperson, Mr Mooketsi Maphane, in order to bolster its governance and enhance leadership continuity through the development of a Board and Executive Management Succession Plan.
At operational level, LLR increased its shareholding in Railpark Mall from 32.79% to 57.79% and proudly took over the management of this prime asset.
The CEO of LLR, Ms Kamogelo Mowaneng commented “During the period under review, our portfolio continued to perform strongly, with improvements across all key metrics as a result of our ongoing focus on portfolio growth and optimisation.
“We are pleased to report a successful first half of the 2024 financial year, where we managed to not only grow the portfolio through strategic acquisitions and value accretive refurbishments but also recycled capital through the disposal of Moedi House as well as the ongoing sale of section titles at Red Square Apartments. The acquisition of an additional 25% stake in JTTM Properties significantly uplifted the value of our investment portfolio to P2.0 billion at a Group level. Our investment portfolio was further differentiated by the quality of our tenant base, as demonstrated by above market occupancy levels of 99.15% and strong collections of above 100% for the period”.
The growth in contractual revenue of 9% from the prior year’s P48.0 million to the current year P52.2 million, increased income from Railpark Mall, coupled with high collection rates, has enabled the company to declare a distribution of 9.11 thebe per linked unit, which is in line with the prior year.
In line with its strategic pillars of ‘Streamlined and Expanded Botswana Portfolio’ as well as ‘Quality African Assets’, the Group continuously monitors the performance of its investments to ensure that they meet the targeted returns.
“The Group continues to explore yield accretive opportunities for balance sheet growth and funding options that can be deployed to finance that growth” further commented the CEO of LLR Ms Kamogelo Mowaneng.
Ms Mowaneng further thanked the Group’s stakeholders for their continued support and stated that they look forward to unlocking further value in the Group.
Business
Botswana’s Electricity Generation Dips 26.4%
The Botswana Power Corporation (BPC) has reported a significant decrease in electricity generation for the fourth quarter of 2023, with output plummeting by 26.4%. This decline is primarily attributed to operational difficulties at the Morupule B power plant, as per the latest Botswana Index of Electricity Generation (IEG) released recently.
Local electricity production saw a drastic reduction, falling from 889,535 MWH in the third quarter of 2023 to 654,312 MWH in the period under review. This substantial decrease is largely due to the operational challenges at the Morupule B power plant. Consequently, the need for imported electricity surged by 35.6% (136,243 MWH) from 382,426 MWH in the third quarter to 518,669 MWH in the fourth quarter. This increase was necessitated by the need to compensate for the shortfall in locally generated electricity.
Zambia Electricity Supply Corporation Limited (ZESCO) was the principal supplier of imported electricity, accounting for 43.1% of total electricity imports during the fourth quarter of 2023. Eskom followed with 21.8%, while the remaining 12.1, 10.3, 8.6, and 4.2% were sourced from Electricidade de Mozambique (EDM), Southern African Power Pool (SAPP), Nampower, and Cross-border electricity markets, respectively. Cross-border electricity markets involve the supply of electricity to towns and villages along the border from neighboring countries such as Namibia and Zambia.
Distributed electricity exhibited a decrease of 7.8% (98,980 MWH), dropping from 1,271,961 MWH in the third quarter of 2023 to 1,172,981 MWH in the review quarter.
Electricity generated locally contributed 55.8% to the electricity distributed during the fourth quarter of 2023, a decrease from the 74.5% contribution in the same quarter of the previous year. This signifies a decrease of 18.7 percentage points. The quarter-on-quarter comparison shows that the contribution of locally generated electricity to the distributed electricity fell by 14.2 percentage points, from 69.9% in the third quarter of 2023 to 55.8% in the fourth quarter. The Morupule A and B power stations accounted for 90.4% of the electricity generated during the fourth quarter of 2023, while Matshelagabedi and Orapa emergency power plants contributed the remaining 5.9 and 3.7% respectively.
The year-on-year analysis reveals some improvement in local electricity generation. The year-on-year perspective shows that the amount of distributed electricity increased by 8.2% (88,781 MWH), from 1,084,200 MWH in the fourth quarter of 2022 to 1,172,981 MWH in the current quarter. The trend of the Index of Electricity Generation from the first quarter of 2013 to the fourth quarter of 2023 indicates an improvement in local electricity generation, despite fluctuations.
The year-on-year analysis also reveals a downward trend in the physical volume of imported electricity. The trend in the physical volume of imported electricity from the first quarter of 2013 to the fourth quarter of 2023 shows a downward trend, indicating the country’s continued effort to generate adequate electricity to meet domestic demand, has led to the decreased reliance on electricity imports.
In response to the need to increase local generation and reduce power imports, the government has initiated a new National Energy Policy. This policy is aimed at guiding the management and development of Botswana’s energy sector and encouraging investment in new and renewable energy. In the policy document, Minister of Mineral Resources, Green Technology and Energy Security Lefoko Moagi stated that the policy aims to transform Botswana from being a net energy importer to a self-sufficient nation with surplus energy for export into the region. Moagi expressed confidence that Botswana has the potential to achieve self-sufficiency in electric power supply, given the country’s readily available energy resources such as coal and renewable sources.
Business
MMG acquires Khoemacau in a transaction valued at P23Bn
MMG Limited, the Hong Kong-based mining company specializing in base metals, has successfully concluded the acquisition of Khoemacau Copper Mine, a state-of-the-art, world-class copper asset nestled in the northwest of Botswana.
On Monday, MMG announced that the acquisition of Khoemacau Mine in Botswana was finalized on 22nd March 2024. “This acquisition enriches the company’s portfolio with a top-tier, transformative growth project and signifies a monumental milestone in the Company’s journey,” MMG communicated in an official statement published on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
Upon completion of the acquisition, MMG remitted to the Sellers an Aggregate Consideration of approximately US$1,734,657,000 (over P23 billion), a sum subject to potential adjustments post-Completion.
In addition to the Aggregate Consideration, MMG, in accordance with the Agreement, advanced an aggregate amount of approximately US$348,580,000 (over P4.5 billion) as the Aggregate Debt Settlement Amount, to settle certain debt balances of the Target Group (Cuprous Capital/Khoemacau).
On November 21, 2023, Khoemacau announced that the shareholders of its parent company [Cuprous Capital] had agreed to sell 100% of their interests to MMG Limited.
MMG is a global resources company that mines, explores, and develops copper and other base metals projects on four continents. The company is headquartered in Melbourne, Australia, and has a significant shareholder, China Minmetals Corporation, which is China’s largest metals and minerals group owned by the Government of the People’s Republic of China.
On December 22, 2023, Khoemacau Copper Mining (Pty) Ltd received the approval from the Minister of Minerals and Energy of Botswana regarding the transfer of a controlling interest in the Project Licenses and Prospecting Licenses associated with the Khoemacau Copper Mine, a result of the Acquisition.
The Botswana Competition & Consumer Authority (CCA) on January 29, 2024, notified the market that it had given its approval for the takeover of Khoemacau Copper Mining by MMG Limited.
On January 29, 2024, the CCA issued a merger decision to the market, stating that after conducting all necessary assessments, it was ready to proceed.
The Competition Authority affirmed that the structure of the relevant market would not significantly change upon implementation of the proposed merger as the proposed transaction is not likely to result in a substantial lessening of competition, nor endanger the continuity of service in the market of mining of copper and silver ores and the production, and sale or supply of copper concentrate in Botswana.
Furthermore, the CCA stated that the proposed merger would not have any negative impact on public interest matters in Botswana as per the provisions of section 52(2) of the Competition Act 2018.
Earlier this month, Minister of Minerals & Energy, Lefoko Maxwell Moagi, informed parliament that his Ministry was endorsing the Khoemacau acquisition by MMG Limited. He noted that not only was the company acquiring the existing operation but also committing to an expansion program that would cost over $700 million to double production, create more jobs for Batswana, and increase taxes and royalties paid to the Government.