BPC boss’ hefty bonus in limbo
The Board of Directors of Botswana Power Corporation (BPC) has allegedly refused to grant their CEO, Dr. Stefan Schwarzfischer a performance bonus amounting to millions of Pula until his contract terms are enforced with its deliverables clearly stated.
The latest revelation at headquarters of the monopoly electricity company beats logic as to how the board, or any of its six sub committees failed to realise the abnormally that Schwarzfischer has not signed a performance contract for more than a year since he took over as CEO.
It was only in February this year when one of the committees charged with amongst other responsibilities, recommending that the chief executive be paid his performance bonus, noticed that Schwarzfischer has not signed his performance contract. This made difficult for the committee to determine whether or not he has met or surpassed his performance objectives.
It was then that the authorities expressed the need to ensure that the CEO’s contract terms are enforced. At the time of going to press, it was not clear whether the request by one of the committees to have their CEO’s performance contract presented to the relevant committee (named withheld) for approval was successful or not. But, what Botswana Guardian can reveal is that for now the board has agreed that there shall be no performance bonus paid until after they have satisfied themselves on what the deliverables were and whether targets have been met and are worth being rewarded. It is alleged that in one of its sittings, one of the committees noted that the reasons why Schwarzfischer’s contract was to be considered is because of a clause which provides for both succession planning and bonus payment.
Forensic investigation
Currently there is an ongoing forensic investigation by Deloitte, which started two months ago and is expected to be completed at the end of May 2018. The probe followed a series of allegations made by a whistle blower and culminated in the placing of Chief Operations Officer, Jonathan Raheem Hosseini on administrative leave. Documents seen by this publication indicate countless allegations against the COO.
Although the publication was unable to get the Deloitte terms of reference, it is alleged that the forensic investigation is likely to expose many employees if not open a can of worms. Some sympathetic people have come to the defence of Hosseini saying that allegations made against him are frivolous as BPC took the solar power direction long before he was offered the job, and that BPC offered him the position because they all wanted to draw from his expertise.
They wonder if it is still necessary for him to be still on suspension because he has declared his interest.
Solar project
International experts who spoke to Botswana Guardian News on condition of anonymity say the many solar power projects that BPC is engaging in will soon award the tender for, have the potential to be as messy just like many projects around the African continent in particularly the Arms deal in South Africa. In 2016, over 166 companies expressed interest for the multibillion Pula joint ventures with BPC for both a 100 MW industrial scale solar plant and the setting up of hybrid networks in 20 rural areas. The short listing is currently underway for 100 companies, some of which are alleged to not have met the set criteria.
