Prominent Gaborone attorney, Parks Tafa and the country’s fourth rated commercial bank, Stanbic Bank Botswana have parted ways. Tafa has been the chairman of the bank since 2008 after joining its board in 2004. The bank has since replaced him with the Managing Director of AccPro Accountants (Pty) Ltd, Craig Granville.
Sunday Standard has been informed that following the departure of Tafa and submission of all necessary requirements to the central bank, the Bank of Botswana (BoB) approved the appointment of Granville at the end of March this year.
Confirming the departure of Tafa and appointment of Granville to Sunday Standard this week, Standard Bank Chief Executive, Southern and Central Africa Pindie Nyandoro said the bank is looking forward for the direction Granville will take in continuing to lead them to great success, adding to a heritage of many a great industry leader at the bank’s helm.
“These are exciting times at Stanbic Bank. We’re pleased to confirm that the Board of Stanbic Bank Botswana has appointed Granville as its chairman. The outgoing chairman, Parks Tafa diligently served in the Stanbic Bank Board,” she stated.
Nyandoro says after serving the board diligently for ten years, Tafa felt that it was time to ‘retire’ and pass the reins.
Tafa was first appointed to the Stanbic Bank Board in 2004 and he first served as an ordinary member, and then moved on to the board’s audit committee before taking over as the board chairman in 2008.
On the other hand, Nyandoro says the bank has been excited by the arrival of Granville whom he said will lead the bank to a great success. The Standard Bank CEO said the appointment of a new chairman after the full term of their predecessor is a natural succession and comes as part of any organisation.  
“This is an incredibly exciting time for us at Stanbic Bank Botswana and we look forward to what the future will bring,” she said.
Granville is a qualified Chartered Accountant and Fellow of the Botswana Institute of Chartered Accountants. He is the Managing Director of AccPro Accountants (Pty) Ltd. Nyandoro pointed out that Granville’s extensive experience in the industry and as an entrepreneur no doubt lends itself well to the bank, as they welcome a new chapter in their continued efforts towards moving the community and the economy forward.
Generally the board chairman is a link between the board and management of the company. The Chairman responsibility also includes building and maintaining stakeholders’ trust and confidence in the company. Key amongst the roles of the chairman is ensuring that good relationships are maintained with the group’s major shareholders and its strategic stakeholders.
Nyandoro is of the view that the chairman’s responsibility is the effective leadership of the board, ensuring that it is an effective working group at the head of the business. He added that it is done in line with the clear corporate governance and best practice structures already in place.
Granville joins other board members including Orefitlhetse Masire, Tasha Ferreira, Pindie Nyandoro, Jennifer Marinelli, Arnold Gain, Dale Ter Haar, William Stocker as well as the Managing Director Leina Gabaraane.
Granville joins the Stanbic some months after Stanbic Bank invested hugely on a new multimillion Pula core banking system which increased the bank’s operating expenses by 15 percent to P438 million.
However the bank’s full year financial results for 2014 shows that its profit after tax (PAT) went down from P241 million in 2013 to P91 million in 2014 while loans and advances to customers went up from P6.4 billion in 2013 to P6.5 billion in 2014. At the same time, the bank’s income declined by nine percent from P813 million in 2013 to P666 million in 2014 while trading revenue remained resilient.
Parks Tafa relinquishes his post as board chairman of Stanbic Bank Botswana
