The Parliamentary Committee on Statutory Bodies and State Enterprises has summoned the Minister of Agriculture Karabo Gare to answer for the Botswana Meat Commission (BMC)’s failure to appoint a CEO.
Chief Financial Officer Limited Nkani was sent packing this past week as he appeared before the committee to account on behalf of the company. However the Committee, chaired by Nkgange Legislator Dr Nevah Tshabang, turned him away saying he was not the appropriate accounting officer. The CFO was reportedly sent by company’s Board Chairman who the Committee said did not have the powers to appoint an accounting officer.
The powers only lie with the Minister, the Committee said. The troubled BMC have been without a substantive CEO since the departure of Dr Akolang Tombale in 2018.
Acting CEO Boitumelo Mogome-Maseko was removed from the position earlier this year under controversial circumstances. Sunday Standard had earlier reported that Mogome-Maseko had fleeced the cash strapped parastatal of hundreds of thousands in undue housing and car allowances.
The then Acting CEO stood accused of illegally paying herself housing and car allowances running into hundreds of thousand Pulas while she was staying in a staff house and using a company car.
It also emerged the she had allegedly plundered the BMC butchery, raided company cleaning supplies and abused the company mobile phone. Sunday Standard investigations uncovered a letter from the BMC Human Resource Manager petitioning the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture to summon Mogome-Maseko explain the alleged undue allowances as part of the company’s Human Resource Capital inquiry.
The company has been without an acting or substantive CEO since Mogome-Maseko’s appointment was terminated in March this year.
Earlier this year (February) the Chairman of the BMC Board of Directors Victor Senye also dumped the company allegedly over the government’s failure to fix long standing problems at the corporation.
Senye decided he was not going to let the ship sink on his watch. His resignation came just under two years since he replaced Dr Thapelo Matsheka as the BMC Board Chairman in June 2019 following the latter’s decision to run for political office.
“I have enjoyed working with the BMC and I will be happy to work with them in any other capacity,” Senye told Sunday Standard earlier this year but refused to discuss reasons behind his decision to quit. Senye was replaced in May this year by Boyce Mhutsiwa.
The former’s resignation came at a time when the already struggling BMC was reeling from COVID-19 related challenges with the company then struggling to cope with operational costs such as paying wages for their employees.
While BMC has over the past few years blamed shortage of supply for their poor performance all indications have pointed to the challenges being, in fact, self-inflicted. Cattle owners have complained about low prices and delays in payment by the corporation.
While the corporation has enjoyed monopoly of the local beef industry for years experts have argued the BMC has been more detrimental than beneficial to the farmer. Farmers were up in arms in early 2020 over the BMC’s failure to make payments in time.
The BMC were at the time accused of owing local farmers from across the country in excess of P160 million on delayed payments.
