Growing web... The spy,the President and the diamond chief

Lawrence Seretse | Friday January 24, 2014 16:32

 

The business relationship between the director general of the Directorate of Intelligence and Security (DIS), Isaac Kgosi and former Debswana managing director, Blackie Marole appears to be much deeper than originally revealed.

Mmegi investigations reveal that the two have held interests in another company called Belabela Quarries Proprietary Limited, which is the biggest supplier of granite stones to BR Railways. Kgosi is represented by his wife Jennifer Matlho Kgosi.

At the time when Marole granted Kgosi a P200,000 security tender at the mining company owned by the Botswana government and De Beers, he was a business partner to the Kgosi’s wife in one company and the spy chief himself in another, Sediba Properties. Also a shareholder in Sediba properties is former Botswana Defense Force commander, Tebogo Masire.

Marole confirmed to Mmegi that he has been a shareholder and director of Belabela Quarries for as long as it has existed.  In 2010 Marole offered Kgosi, a ‘Security Risk Evaluation’ tender for Debswana Diamond Company worth P200,000 through a private security company called Silver Shadows Pty (Ltd), in which Kgosi is the sole director. 

Significantly, the corruption act states that;  A member or employee of a public body is guilty of corruption if he or an immediate member of his family has a direct or indirect interest in any company or undertaking with which such a body proposes to deal, or has a personal interest in any decision which such body is to make, and he, knowingly, fails to disclose the nature of such interest, or votes or participates in the proceedings of such body relating to such dealing or decision. The act says guilty persons are liable to not more than 10 years imprisonment or P500,000 fine or both. 

In their dealing as per the Debswana tender document, there is no evidence that either Kgosi or Marole declared these interests or their directorships in Sediba Properties Ltd and Belabela Quarries Ltd.

Marole said as the Debswana MD there was no declaration requirement that compelled him to state any of his interests before processing the said tender.

Both Kgosi and his wife could not be reached for comment on Belabela Quarries

The Directorate on Corruption and Economic Crimes (DCEC) is said to have been investigating Kgosi’s questionable business dealings through Silver Shadows.

However, it still remains unclear how much progress these investigations have made since sources say the probe was curtailed or even abandoned with orders from the high office.

 

Back into the Wilderness

Once again Wilderness Safaris emerges as the central link within this closely-knit group of business interests going up to the highest office.  It has since emerged that another shareholder in Belabela, Malcolm William McCulloch, also sits on Wilderness Safaris board of directors as a non-executive director. He has been with Wilderness Safaris since 1992 and now chairs the Risk Committee of Wilderness Safaris.

President Khama’s tourism interests are held within Wilderness Safaris since he has a stake in the company. But he is also a partner with Wilderness Safaris in another company Linyanti Investments in which he owns 5 percent in Linyanti Investments and Baobab Safari Lodges. Both companies are subsidies of Wilderness Safaris.

But the story of Khama’s business interests in the lucrative tourism business cannot be complete without the tussle for the lush concessions in the country’s precious tourist regions.  Those close to Khama and his business interests are increasingly moving towards strategic position in the tourism sector in a move seen by insiders as consolidating control of the country’s tourism sector. Recently it emerged that Wilderness Safaris general manager Sally Anne-Follett Smith was being eyed for the all-important position of Botswana Tourism Organisation (BTO) chief executive officer.

Myra Sekgororoane’s contract with the BTO was not renewed last year and she left under controversial circumstances. But Smith has said she had no knowledge surrounding her speculated appointment to BTO. Having been with Wilderness Safaris for 10 years, Smith is said to be close with the elite and the BTO appointment would be a strategic move to control the industry by Wilderness Safaris and Khama’s acquaintances.   

 

BTO and Concessions

Recently the Botswana Guardian broke a story where Khama’s lawyer and Wilderness Safaris chairman, Parks Tafa played a two-faceted role to influence BTO into awarding a disputed multi-million Pula tourism land to a US billionaire, Paul Allen.

Allen’s company, Promotive Investments is said to have been favoured in the allocation of a lucrative tourism land NG20 in the Okavango Delta by Tawana Landboard and BTO.

 

The leaseholder, Kwara had

dragged the matter to court.

The Botswana Guardian reported that Tafa’s Collins Newman and Company advised BTO on how to deal with the concession, and then switching to a new role as legal advisor to Promotive Investments and finally joining Promotive Investments to become one of its directors.

Sources within the tourism sector affirm that the controversial concession matter had dented Wilderness Safaris and its crony associates and has influenced the decision to move Smith to assume management of BTO.

 

Other shareholders of Wilderness

*Former Botswana Congress Party (BCP) leader, Gilson Saleshando, had 5,000 shares in Wilderness while his wife and deputy vice chancellor at the University of Botswana, Professor Lydia Ramahobo-Saleshando is reported to have 10,000 shares in the same company.

l International sportswear manufacturer, Puma, has a 20 percent stake worth P185 million

l Puma chairman and CEO Jochen Zeitz also has a one percent stake in Wilderness, worth about P72 million in his individual capacity.

l Michael and Gavin Tollman also sit on the board. The Tollmans have a chequered history. In 2008, Stanley Tollman was involved in tax evasion and various fraud cases that amounted to hundreds of millions of US dollars and was subsequently jailed before he settled payments of over a hundred million US dollars.

l In June 2012 the Tollman family, through Wine Investments Limited, a subsidiary of Travel Corporation spent about P37 million to increase its stake in Wilderness by five percent. Sources speculate that the Tollmans may be the largest shareholders to date since they have been purchasing shares every quarter of the year.

lFormer owner of Lanseria Airport Roux Marnitz holds a stake in Wilderness as well.