Okavango Diamond MD takes over at MDCB
Brian Benza | Friday June 30, 2017 17:35
Minerals Resources, Green Technology and Energy Security minister, Sadique Kebonang made the announcement this week saying Frears will begin his new Job on August 1, 2017. Frears takes over from Paul Smith who parted ways with the company two months ago.
“MDCB is in the process of reviving its overall strategy and Frears will drive that process,” Kebonang said. Appearing before the Public Accounts Committee recently, acting permanent secretary in the Ministry of Mineral Resources, Green Technology and Energy Security, Obolokile Obakeng said they decided to sever relations with Smith due to major differences with the MDCB board.
“He had significant differences with the company’s board mostly around lack of consultation. In the public service, you can’t work alone; you always have to consult before taking decisions,” Obakeng said. Frears joins the state-owned mining company after having spent over four years at ODC where he was the founding CEO. According to Kebonang, ODC managed to cover its start-up costs in the first six months of operation and was profitable within its first year. “The company declared a dividend to government within the first three years of operations, despite the market downturn of 2015.
“ODC has established an early reputation in the market for transparency and integrity,” he said. ODC’s customer registrations have grown incrementally each year and the company now enjoys a registered customer base of over 450 local and international companies. Kebonang says ODC has contributed to the successful establishment of Botswana as a leading rough trading centre, attracting in excess of 100 international companies to each of its sales sights. “Through its online auction platform, ODC is able to achieve market prices for its production and fulfil its mandate of providing government with ongoing market intelligence to support strategic decision-making.
“Having established itself as a market leading rough trading organisation, the company is now well positioned for growth,” the minister said. ODC employs 31 staff in total, of which 90% are Botswana citizens.