Residents of Tloaneng, a village between Gabane and Mankgodi had all the reasons to joyously celebrate Botswana’s 49th anniversary.
Before reading President Ian Khama’s national independence message, Stanbic Bank Public Relations Manager, Lorato Ruth Modisane revealed recently that on top of receiving P5, 000 worth of beef for relish during independence celebrations, Stanbic has pledged to grant the village P20, 000 to purchase a borehole.
Emmanuel Maswabi, chairman of Tloaneng’s Village Development Committee (VDC) said the village has also received assistance from the Citizen Entrepreneurship Development Agency (CEDA) to connect water and electricity in their kgotla.
The Department of Water Affairs (DWA) said the village has received an offer to either rent the borehole out for a fee of P3, 480 per year or buy it for P20 000. DWA has given the VDC until December 2015 to have taken a final decision on the matter.
“The first option was complex because we really don’t have sources of income. The highest rented house in the village is the one that rakes in P100. The second option was not a better choice either. We therefore decided to go around scouting for funds until we landed at Leina Gabaraane, boss of Stanbic Botswana,” said Maswabi.
In response, Modisane told residents that the bank has made a pledge to assist the village. In a brief interview after the event, Modisane said her bank has supported lots of community projects.
“This is the second donation from Stanbic Bank to REPSSI, the first of which sponsored 10 students in 2012. This donation of P120, 000.00 will go towards tuition fees for another 10 students to enrol in the REPSSI Community Base Work with Children and Youth (CBWCY) Certificate Program. Stanbic Bank donated towards the erection of livestock exhibition kraals to the value of P600, 000.00 in 2012. This year, the Bank made an additional contribution of P168, 000.00 for installation of covered kraals used to accommodate show champions. In addition the Bank also sponsored the show with 100 branded overalls for livestock handlers,” she said.
She added that her bank also sponsors a financial literacy show on Yarona FM called ‘Better Business; More Lebotha’ which is meant to better inform, educate and support Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). The season finale saw 10 young entrepreneurs that participated in the show will walk away with laptops to further improve operations in their businesses.
“Stanbic Bank donated a total of P150, 000 over a period of three years towards the annual Women in Business Association Awards. Each year, the bank will give P50, 000 in prize money for the Business Woman of the Year Award,” she said.
In order to further its financial literacy drive, Stanbic bank has partnered with the University of Botswana economics department to produce a quarterly economic review publication at a cost of P60, 000 annually in order to educate Batswana about the country’s economic landscape and position.
