Thursday, May 1, 2025

Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown

The newly elected Botswana Telecommunication Corporation Limited (BTCL) Board of Directors chairperson Lorato Boakgomo-Ntakhwana is tasked with diligently addressing the sore challenges at hand.

Her strategic direction to the management is also to identify erstwhile managing director (MD) Paul Taylor’s replacement to lead the newly listed Botswana Stock Exchange (BSE) entrees.

Boakgomo-Ntakhwana, former First National Bank Botswana (FNBB) CEO, is also expected to handle shareholder’s concerns and displeasure about the unsatisfactory company’s share price trading at BSE domestic main board.

She is also to see to BTCL’s cost efficiencies whilst building an advanced converged portfolio of products supported by world class IT and network infrastructure to help boost digital inclusiveness.

She joins the company after it emerged through transformation from a loss-making company into a profitable corporation whose profits surged past the billion Pula mark in recent years. 

In May 2016, BSE uplifted the trading halt on BTCL shares following the company’s announcement that it would yield to some of the demands by its employees who are also part shareholders. 

According to BSE at the time, the decision to stop the trading of shares on April 25 was made in order to allow for the dissemination of information through the BSE regarding changes to BTCL Employee Shares Trust. At the time the BTCL share price dropped by 12 percent.

During her stay at FNBB, the bank’s exponential growth shone in the commercial banks’ market share, which financial markets figures have shown.

She has worked for the Bank of Botswana (BoB) and the South African Reserve Bank for a combined period of 17 years prior to joining the FirstRand Group in November 2004.

She also left when the organisation’s fundamentals were very strong and placed it in good stead to exploit new opportunities in the market.

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