BOT50 to provide audit report after independence celebrations

5 out of 30 local companies deliver after coordinator decries lack of delivery

GOSEGO MOTSUMI

BOT50 Coordinator, Charity Kgotlafela, says they cannot provide the breakdown of how the P100 million budget allocated for independence celebrations was utilized- as they are still in the middle of the preparations for the celebrations.
She however said they will produce an evaluation and audit report after independence. “We are still buying and will come up with an audit report after we are done. That report will show how the money was used and it will be shared with the public. I would ask you to give us time,” she said.
Appearing before the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) in June, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Youth, Sport and Culture, Kago Ramokate, revealed at the time that they had spent P29 million from the budget and that the remaining amount would go towards choreography and production contracts for Independence Day. Kgotlafela revealed that P14 million had been awarded to Red Pepper, a local production company.
With just a little under a month before independence celebrations, Kgotlafela said notwithstanding disappointment with some local companies failing to deliver in the past two weeks, they are happy with improvements in some delivery. “I am proud to announce that there has been an improvement, there are deliveries done. Five out of thirty local companies delivered. We had P5 million reserved for these companies and this change brought the figure down to P3.5 million. We are still going to take measures to push the remaining companies to deliver as time is not on our side,” she said.
However, Kgotlafela said she could not reveal the names of the thirty companies as it was classified information because of the client and supplier obligation:  “Most of these companies line of services is branding. The core of this celebration is to actively show our Botswana colours, I am talking banners, flags and all branding merchandise.” She added that for the five companies to deliver, they had written them letters and not only made phone calls like before.