The governance paralysis has also seen the airline fall behind on statutory reporting obligation
BONGANI MALUNGA
Years of governance instability at Air Botswana have left the struggling state-owned airline scrambling to reconcile overdue financial reports, with audited accounts still stuck in 2022 amid a leadership vacuum and collapsed reporting structures, General Manager Dr Bao Mosinyi has revealed.
The airline has operated for years without a fully functional board of directors, while several key executive positions remain filled on an interim basis or vacant altogether. The situation has crippled oversight and decision-making, with the board reportedly failing to form a quorum for the past five years.
CRISIS LAID BARE
The extent of the crisis was laid bare on Monday when Dr Mosinyi appeared before the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Statutory Bodies and State Enterprises.
Mosinyi revealed that critical leadership posts across the airline have remained vacant for prolonged periods, further weakening operations at the troubled national carrier. The General Manager position had been vacant for 12 months before his appointment in February this year, while the Finance Manager post has been unfilled for eight months and the Human Resources Manager position for 23 months.
“As I sit here I’m the only substantive member of the executive management, everybody else, the six directors, are all acting. Our main problem at Air Botswana is a governance problem,” Dr Mosinyi revealed.
Other strategic vacancies include the Director of Commercial position, which has remained unoccupied for 33 months, Customer and Ground Services for 19 months, Engineering Manager for 37 months and the Director of Flight Operations role, which has astonishingly gone unfilled for 62 months.
GOVERNANCE PARALYSIS
The governance paralysis has also seen the airline fall behind on statutory reporting obligations. Under Air Botswana’s operational policy, audited financial statements are required to be presented within four months after the close of every financial year. The airline is also expected to submit annual reports to the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure within six months after each financial year, a requirement that has repeatedly not been met.
“Financial reports for the year 2021 were signed in 2022, nine months after the permitted period. 2022 financials were only signed two months ago. We are currently on the verge of finalizing the 2023 financials. The review of the 2024 financials will be started while the 2025 records will be done in December. We plan to catch up on the 2026 financials in March 2027,” the Air Botswana GM explained.
BACKLOG
“For the entire five year period under review, the only financial statements that have been reconciled are for the financial year ending 2022. This backlog is primarily due to several factors such as having the board non-curate most of the time, it creates such problems,” Dr Mosinyi noted, adding that a complete restructuring of the airline’s financial department also contributed to the problem.
Despite the governance issues and operational struggles, Dr Mosinyi expressed optimism that the airline would be profitable in due course as corrective measures are gradually being implemented.