Boitumelo Molefe is tipped to soon leave her post as Chief Finance Officer of Bokamoso Private Hospital and take over from the acting Chief Executive Officer of the of Botswana Public Officers Pension Fund (BPOPF) Lesedi Moakofhi.
Sunday Standard has been tipped that Molefe has since terminated her employment contract at the Mmopane based hospital and is currently serving notice which will pave way for her new role at BPOPF.
This publication has further been informed that Molefe is expected to go through the normal regulatory vetting process which includes her relevance of experience per curriculum vitae and clearance for known offences by law enforcement agents.
Molefe had a short stay at Debswana Pension Fund (DPF) as Chief Executive Officer before joining Bokamoso Hospital and she was previously the Debswana Group Supply chain Manager.
Since last year, BPOPF ran vacancy adverts in local media publications inviting candidates to apply to be shortlisted for the job and the company stated that it has experienced phenomenal growth since its inception despite difficult market conditions in recent years.
Reached for comment by Sunday Standard this past week, Molefe remained tight lipped on whether she would be replacing and taking over from Moakofhi.
“I advise you to contact the leadership of BPOPF regarding the issue as i am currently employed by here at Bokamoso hospital,” said Molefe.
BPOPF board of trustees’ members, Johnson Motswarakgole and Tobokani Rari said they are not aware of the appointment of the new BPOPF substantive CEO.
The new CEO who is replacing Ephraim Letebele is expected to play a pivotal role in the management of the fund and ensuring the achievement of the funds’ goals and objectives whilst enabling the Board of Trustees to fulfil their governance function.
BPOPF which is the largest pension fund in the country has more than 150 000 members and primarily invests members’ funds in assets such as equity and property in the local market, emerging markets and developing markets. Currently its assets total P45 billion while the total industry assets are estimated to be around P65 billion with P45 billion belonging to the government.
The fund remains with a huge portfolio that is central to the national interest and the national economy. It is one of the region’s largest pension funds with assets totalling P48.3 billion as at December 2014. Of the P48.3bn, P6bn is pensioners’ assets while the balance of P42.3 bn is for active members and deferred pensioners. Until December 2014, 54 percent of BPOPF’s assets were invested offshore while 46 percent were invested onshore. Last year, BPOPF acting Chief Executive, launched an ambitious three-year investment strategy with particular focus and bias towards private equity, infrastructure and strategic investment in Botswana. The strategy would create employment and position BPOPF as a key player in the national economy. The fund has been investing heavily in offshore markets because of limited investment opportunities in the local economy.
