Kgosi abandons P50 million judgment
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The former Directorate on Intelligence and Security (DIS) Director General who is also its founder, Isaac Kgosi, has in an unexpected twist of events decided to abandon last week’s Judge Zein Kebonang’s order to award him P50 million in damages for the 2019 controversial Hollywood like arrest.
The damages claim of P 50 000 000.00 being an unliquidated amount was to be assessed on the 2nd August 2021.
Kgosi, in court papers seen by this publication, submitted to the registrar, Botswana Unified Revenue Service (BURS) lawyers and the Attorney General (representing the other 10 respondents) on the 21st of this month, did not reveal any reason to that effect.
From the papers, Kgosi’s lawyers, Thabiso Tafila Attorneys briefly submitted; “Be pleased to take notice that the 1st respondent (Kgosi) having barred and obtained judgment against the 1st applicant (BURS) and 2nd applicant (Kaone Molapo-BURS General Manager Compliance) and desirous of obtaining finality in the proceedings before court hereby abandons his judgment in his favour on the 12th July 2021.”
There are no reasons backing up this decision, but highly placed sources hint that the idea is to focus on what looks like an easy catch – a forgery case in which some government institutions connived to forge Palapye Magistrate Rebecca Motsamai’s signature to obtain a warrant of arrest to apprehend Kgosi.
In the judgment Kgosi is now abandoning, BURS is accused of failing to have provided further and better particulars to the plaintiff by 16 July 2021.
It was then ordered that defendants having failed to file and deliver their plea are now barred from doing so, judgment is entered in favour of the plaintiff with costs.
Those close to the twist and turns of the developments say, Kgosi is aware of the insurmountable task he is facing with BURS. Furthermore, it is said even in his calculations he is mindful that when the P50 million he was awarded was going for examination he was never going to come up with a third of that amount.
BURS who have since applied for Justice Kebonang to recuse himself on the matter is confident that Kgosi evaded tax in the affected years of 2008 to 2019. In their court papers, BURS have chronicled Kgosi’s tax transgression for 10 years. BURS maintain that Kgosi was willfully defaulting to pay tax while on other occasions submitted false tax returns.
TAX YEAR 2008-2010
According to BURS documents filed at the courts, Kgosi did not declare other income for tax purposes which were later discovered through a review of the bank deposits made by his different associates. A payment of P45, 000 was made to Collins Newman & Co for the purpose of Sentlhane farm. “In the result, a total income of P155, 000.00 is determined to have been derived and not disclosed and declared by Kgosi. He is obliged to have declared the other income in the tax year and pay resultant tax of P19, 625.00,” read court papers submitted by BURS.
The tax man cautioned the former spy boss that failure to disclose and declare this income, it attracted a penalty of P39, 250 charged at the rate of 200% on the tax that has been lost to the Commissioner General owing to Kgosi’s willful default.
In the tax year 2009, another payment of P400, 000.00 was made to the same law firm for the purchase of Sentlhane farm. It is said, a total income of P698, 197.75 is determined to have been derived and not disclosed. Kgosi is obliged to have declared the other income in the tax year and pay the resultant tax of P155, 424.44. Failure to declare this income attracted a penalty of P310, 848.88.
The trend continued even in 2010 where transactions of P687, 281. 29 and P22, 600.00 were made to Collins Newman & Co for the purchase of Sentlhane farm. This resulted in a total income of P1, 187,018.84 to have been derived and not disclosed and declared whereby Kgosi could have declared the other income and pay tax amounting to P277, 629. 71. This has now left Kgosi with a penalty of P555, 259. 42.
TAX YEAR 2011
In this year, BURS in its affidavit says cash payments were made to BH Botswana for generators and could also not trace employment income amounting to P70, 000. 00. It is further added that there were various deposits in the bank statements including K Binns and L.T. & Associates amounting to P184, 000. 00. In the result, a total income of P254, 000. 00 was not disclosed and derived and therefore is obliged to pay tax of P44, 375. 00. Failure to disclose and declare the above income has attracted a penalty of P88, 750.00.
TAX YEAR 2013
Here, it surfaced that Kgosi had other income streams that were discovered through review of payments made for school fees, boreholes and small stock purchase and Skip Hire cash payments for water. It later came out that he had a total income of P1, 682, 982. 53 which was not declared and could have paid a tax of P558, 635. 53. Defaulting to pay has now invited a penalty of P841, 491. 26.
TAX YEAR 2014
Kgosi’s other undeclared income for tax purposes were exposed by review of payments of school fees, transportation at PCJ Motors, payment at Skip Hire and sale of cattle at Botswana Meat Commission (BMC), BURS says in court papers.
It later came out that an income of P844, 532. 00 was concealed which could have seen tax amounting to P353, 280. 35 being paid. This has seen a cumulative penalty of P422, 266. 18 awaiting the former spy boss.
TAX YEAR 2015
BURS while sniffing for malpractice on Kgosi managed to uncover that he had a total income of P2, 225, 413. 55 from review of payments for school fees, transportation ay PCJ Motors, amounts to buy a car at Lesedi Motors and other various deposits into bank accounts. The undeclared income could have Kgosi paying a resultant tax of P710, 411. 88 and now it has escalated to P 1, 112, 706. 74.
TAX YEAR 2016
School fees at Northside Primary School and PCJ motors transportation allowed the tax man to unearth income of P128, 270.00 which were not declared. The income would have attracted a tax of P58, 047. 37, however refusal to disclose the income and payment of the subsequent tax now has Kgosi owing BURS P64, 135.00.
TAX YEAR 2017
Review of payments made again for the above school fees, generator at BH Botswana, transportation at PCJ cash payments for livestock and various bank deposits, also exposed Kgosi’s total income of P2, 052, 402. 40. A resultant tax of P724, 281. 15 could have been paid but failure to do so has attracted a penalty of P1, 558, 105.35 which the tax body has lost due to the willful lodgment of incorrect tax return.
TAX YEAR 2018
The school fees payment appear again in this tax year, with the generator acquisition, payments of livestock, various bank deposits, payments for two DAF trucks ordered from UK, a Nissan Truck purchased by Bash Carriers from Nuco Auctioneers SA, and directors remuneration from Silver Shadows.
In the results a total income Of P1, 415, 176. 85 which was not disclosed. If the amount could have wilfully declared a tax of P501, 887.95 would have been settled. Failure to declare this income has attracted a penalty of P711, 157.74.
TAX YEAR 2019
In this year, there was no employment income assessed as he was relieved of his duties as DIS boss in preceding year. However, BURS says other income from other sources evidenced by school fees payment, cash payment to Furniture Paradise, transportation by PCJ Motors, sale of livestock to BMC and sale of Forex was assessed.
In the result, a total income of P1, 829, 320. 77 is determined to have been derived by Kgosi in the tax year and a resultant tax of P434, 380.19 and penalty of P868, 760. 38 were raised.
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Local tennis team upbeat ahead of Billie Jean King cup
With almost two weeks until the 2023 Billie Jean King Cup, which will be staged in Kenya from June 12-17, 2023, the Botswana Tennis Association (BTA) ladies’ team coach, Ernest Seleke, is optimistic about reaching greater heights.
Billie Jean King Cup, or the BJK Cup, is a premier international team competition in women’s tennis, launched as the Federation Cup to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the International Tennis Federation (ITF). The BJK Cup is the world’s largest annual women’s international team sports competition in terms of the number of nations that compete.
The finals will feature 12 teams (Botswana, Burundi, Ghana, Kenya, Seychelles, Morocco, Namibia, Nigeria, Tunisia, Mauritius, Zimbabwe, and the Democratic Republic of Congo) competing in the four round-robin groups of three. The four group winners will qualify for the semifinals, and the 2023 Billie Jean King Cup will be crowned after the completion of the knockout phase.
Closer to home, the BW Tennis team is comprised of Thato Madikwe, Leungo Monnayoo, Chelsea Chakanyuka, and Kelebogile Monnayoo. However, according to Seleke, they have not assembled the team yet as some of the players are still engaged.
“At the moment, we are depending on the players and their respective coaches in terms of training. However, I will meet up with Botswana-based players in the coming week, while the United States of America (USA) based player Madikwe will probably meet us in Kenya. Furthermore, Ekua Youri and Naledi Raguin, who are based in Spain and France respectively, will not be joining us as they will be writing their examinations,” said Seleke.
Seleke further highlighted the significance of this competition and how competitive it is. “It is a massive platform for our players to showcase their talent in tennis, and it is very competitive as countries target to get promoted to the world categories where they get to face big nations such as Spain, France, USA, and Italy. Though we are going to this tournament as underdogs because it is our second time participating, I’m confident that the girls will put in a good showing and emerge with results despite the odds,” highlighted Seleke.
Quizzed about their debut performance at the BJK Cup, he said, “I think our performance was fair considering the fact that we were newbies. We came third in our group after losing to North Macedonia and South Africa. We went on to beat Uganda, then Kenya in the playoffs. Unfortunately, we couldn’t play Burundi due to heavy rainfall and settled for the position 9/10,” he said.
For her part, team representative Leungo Monnayoo said they are working hard as they aim to do well at the tourney. “The preparations for the tourney have long begun because we practice each and every day. We want to do well, hence we need to be motivated. Furthermore, I believe in my team as we have set ourselves a big target of coming home with the trophy,” she said.
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Pep Stores donates sanitary towels to Popagano JSS
The Guidance and Counseling unit at Popagano Junior Secondary School received a donation of 790 sanitary towels from Pep stores on Thursday.
When presenting the donation, Mareledi Thebeng, the Dinokaneng Area Manager, highlighted their belief in giving back to the community, as their existence depends on the communities they serve. Thebeng pointed out that research indicates one in four girls miss school every day due to the lack of basic necessities like sanitary towels. Therefore, as a company, they strive to assist in alleviating this situation. She expressed hope that this donation would help ensure uninterrupted learning for girls.
Upon receiving the donation on behalf of the students, Charity Sambire, the President of the Student Representative Council, expressed her gratitude. Sambire specifically thanked Pep Store for their generous gift, speaking on behalf of the students, especially the girl child.
She conveyed their sincere appreciation for Pep Store’s compassion and quoted the adage, “Blessed is the hand that gives.” Sambire expressed the students’ hope for Pep Stores’ prosperity, enabling them to continue supporting the students. As a gesture of gratitude, the students pledged to excel academically.
During her speech, Motlalepula Madome, the Senior Teacher in Guidance and Counseling, highlighted that many students at the school come from disadvantaged backgrounds where parents struggle to provide basic necessities. Consequently, some students miss school when they experience menstruation due to this lack.
Madome emphasized the significance of the donation in preventing the girl child from missing lessons and its potential to improve the school’s overall results. She expressed the school’s gratitude and expressed a desire for continued support from Pep Stores.
Popagano Junior Secondary School, situated in the Okavango District, holds the second position academically in the North West region. Despite its location, the school has been dedicated to achieving excellence since 2017
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Botswana misses out critical PAP committee meeting
The Pan African Parliament (PAP) committee on gender, family, youth and people with disability in its sitting considered, adopted and recommended to the plenary session the preliminary report on the framework for the model law on gender equality.
According to the last week’s media release from PAP which is sitting with its various committees until June 2nd, the committee is following up the PAP initiative to draw up a model law on gender equality to enable national governments to harmonize, modernize and standardize their legislations to address local needs is set to be discussed in Plenary.
However, what is concerning is the fact that Botswana which is a member state missed the deliberations. Kgosi Mosadi Seboko who sat in the committee representing Botswana has since been ejected by parliament and this is a huge blow for a nation that is still battling equity and gender balance.
“Although PAP has no legislative powers it makes model laws for member states to adopt. PAP also develops protocols to be ratified by countries. The input of countries at Committee state is extremely critical. It now means the voice of Botswana is missing the discussions leading up to development of protocols or model laws,” said one of Botswana’s representative at PAP Dr. Kesitegile Gobotswang who is attending the current session.
While Botswana is missing, the committee meeting took place on the sidelines of the Sixth PAP second ordinary Session being held under the African Union Theme of the Year for 2023, “The Year of AfCFTA: Accelerating the Implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area” in Midrand, South Africa and will run up to 2 June 2023. Chairperson of the Committee, Hon Mariam Dao-Gabala expressed satisfaction with preliminary processes undertaken so far towards the formulation of the Model Law,” a release from the PAP website reads.
“The law should be suitable to all countries whatever the predominant culture or religion is. The aim is to give an opportunity to women to participate in the economic, political and social development of the continent. Women are not well positioned and face a lot of obstacles. We are introducing the idea of equity in the Law because we cannot talk about equality without equity,” said Hon Mariam Dao-Gabala in the press statement.
The release has stated that among issues to be covered by the Model Law is the migratory movements of women. The Committee proffered that this has to be addressed at the continental level to ensure that migrant women enjoy all their rights and live with dignity in their destination country. The members of the Gender Committee undertook consultations to consolidate the contributions of the various stakeholders that will be the logical framework format for the Model Law.