The former director-general of South Africa’s National Treasury, Dondo Mogajane, and now Chief Executive at the Moti Group has joined local retailer group, Choppies Enterprises’s board of directors.
The Moti group, which Mogajane joined in June 2022, has interests in mining, properties, logistics and aviation in South Africa and Zimbabwe. The Moti Group’s operations in Zimbabwe and its closeness to leading government figures there, including the recently re-elected President Emmerson Mnangagwa, has been under scrutiny.
In Botswana, its founder, Zunaid Moti, was largely publicised by locals news media outlets as a financier to the main opposition – Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC)’s campaign in the run up to the country’s 2019 general elections.
In the business circles, the Moti Group is closely linked to Ivygrove Holdings. In June 2023 when Choppies Enterprises Limited announced plans to raise up to P300 million through a ‘rights offer’ to effect a balance sheet restructuring, eliminate technical insolvency and reduce interest bearing debt in the interests of profits one of the listed underwriters was Ivygrove Holdings Proprietary Limited.
A rights offer, also known as a rights issue or a rights offering, is a corporate finance mechanism through which a company raises additional capital by offering its existing shareholders the opportunity to purchase additional shares at a discounted price.
By early July 2023, Choppies announced that it was able to raise P300 million with a breakdown of where the capital came from showing that 51.36 percent was from shareholders, 37.65 percent from Ivygrove Holdings Proprietary Limited and the remaining 10.98 percent from d Export Marketing (BVI) Limited. Through the June 2023 rights offer, Ivygrove Holdings holds 225 543 406 shares in Choppies representing 12.4 percent of the total stated capital.
Fast forward to late August 2023, Choppies has now confirmed that Mogajane, who is expected to represent the interests of the Moti Group/ Ivygrove Holdings will join its board of directors.
“In accordance with the Listings Requirements of the Botswana Stock Exchange Limited, the Board of Directors of the Company hereby notifies its shareholders that Mr. Andrew Dondo Mogajane has been appointed in terms of the Company’s Constitution, as a non-executive director of Choppies with effect from 30 August 2023,” reads part of a notice sent to Choppies shareholders this past week.
Dondo’s appointment is however subject to confirmation by the shareholders of the Company at its next annual general meeting. By close of trading business at the Botswana Stock Exchange (BSE) on Thursday the Choppies share was P0.50, way below its IPO price of P1.15.
