Botswana Stock Exchange (BSE) is ready to re-admit Stockbrokers Botswana (SBB) back to trading on the domestic bourse on behalf of its clients, provided that Titose Tibone is removed as the person in charge of the largest stockbroking firm in Botswana, sources within the capital market told The Business Weekly & Review.
Sought for comment by this publication, Jeffery Bookbinder, Managing Partner at Bookbinder Business Law, and the appointed statutory manager at SBB, advised that:
“I confirm that the Regulators are still appraising themselves in respect of my findings and recommendations to date. Therefore, it is improper to share my findings and recommendations with the Media until such time that the Regulators have reverted to me pursuant to my mandate as provided for by section 74 of the NBFIRA Act,”
However, sources told this publication that Jeffery Bookbinder, who has been appointed as a statutory manager at the troubled stockbroking firm, applied to have the firm re-admitted for trading at the Botswana Stock Exchange (BSE). In a letter that Bookbinder addressed to the BSE boss Thapelo Tsheole, he advised that he has managed to reconcile all the client accounts adding further that a qualified finance manager who has been vetted by the Non-Bank Financial Institutions Regulatory Authority (NBFIRA) has been appointed. SBB, a company owned by former Minister Charles Tibone, was suspended from trading on the BSE (on behalf of its clients) after it found to have been in contravention of financial services laws. The contravention related to SBB operating with a junior officer acting in the role of financial manager without a lawful vetting from the regulator. The junior accountant, Nozizwe Rebaone has since left the employ of the SBB. Under the statutory management of Bookbinder a full Finance Manager has since been appointed.
SBB was found to have appointed Titose Tibone, son to Charles Tibone, to the position of Managing Director (MD) with neither a job description nor a contract. His position, ostensibly non-executive superseded that of CEO Oosi Lemo. The decisions taken by the MD were found to have been questionable and unprofessional, which gave rise to the need to place SBB under management, and additionally as found by the BSE and NBFIRA concerns were raised as to whether the MD was ‘unfit and improper’ in the management of the company. While Bookbinder applied to the BSE to have the SBB re-admitted to trade on the BSE, sources say that the BSE will only re-admit the stockbroking firm if it presents a different person (apart from Tibone) as MD of the company.
The domestic bourse wrote to NBFIRA informing the regulator that it will be comfortable to re-admit SBB only if it appoints a responsible MD or anyone who will be in charge of the company other than Tibone, who the two regulators had declared unfit and improper. In the letter, it appears the BSE wanted NBFIRA to compel SBB to appoint a different person other than Tibone who will be in charge of SBB, before it can be re-admitted to trade. It is not yet clear, who will be appointed at the helm of the company, either on a full time or an interim basis.
Sources say that although his family owns SBB, he will not, at least for now, have an executive role in the company. They say his input shall only be at the board of directors where he is director, together with four of his other family members. As a culmination of the current difficulties within SBB the employment of Oosi Lemo, the CEO hangs on the balance. As CEO she was the second most powerful executive after Tibone, and she reported to him. However, her role in SBB is under threat after NBFIRA found it to be clashing with that of the MD.
On the 16th of June, Non-Bank Financial Institutions Regulatory Authority (NBFIRA) Deputy Director – Capital Markets Kuki Kowa-Mophuting wrote to the firm lamenting on the confusion as to who is in charge between CEO and MD. In the letter, she said that the Finance Manager and the Head of Trading report to the CEO, while the CEO reports back to Tibone the MD. Interestingly, Kowa-Mophuting said that roles of the MD was not clear, since he did not have a job description.
She said the organizational structure depicts MD as the most senior individual in the firm as opposed to the CEO, which is inconsistent with representations that the firm has made in previous interactions with NBFIRA. In her recommendations, she said that SBB should scrape off one of the two positions, so that the company structure has either the CEO or MD in charge, and reporting to the board of directors.
The fallout between Lemo and Tibone, as revealed by sources indicate that Tibone, wanted to remain the ultimate head at SBB. His decision to sacrifice Lemo as CEO, a position that was then to be replaced with that of Chief Operating Officer (COO) in order to have executive control of the company gave rise to acrimony between the two. Sources said Lemo felt that the position of COO constituted a demotion. In spite of the differences between the MD and CEO it appears that she is still in negotiation with SBB to at the least amicably part ways with the company. The Business Weekly & Review contacted Lemo to establish her employment status at SBB. She would rather not say anything. “Contact Bookbinder, he is the statutory manager, he should know everything, I am not in a position to discuss that with you,” she said.
