Cobus Loots, CEO of Pan African Resources, on delivering sector-leading returns for shareholders. Watch the video here.
Listen you pair of planks - Tlou drilled 2 horizontal wells at significant cost. If all they have to show for this is a small amount of gas, then the company has more problems than your tiny, amateur hour, **** for brains can comprehend…..
Seriously - what you both typed is totally clueless !!
And I told myself I would not longer react to stupidity on this board….. My bad again
https://www.sundaystandard.info/price-hike-double-blow-to-hit-electricity-users-in-botswana/
“The power supplier (BPC) says it requires a healthy liquidity position to undertake overdue refurbishment of its transmission and distribution infrastructure.” - this being just one extract.
Significance?
Botswana is a large country with a small population. Which has suffered poor management and then mismanagement (under Khama for 10 years). Starting from a weakened position, they are trying to change the direction of travel - which is proving difficult for a variety of reasons.
Tlou MUST align itself to gas to power generation, especially now that BPOPF money is being made available. Posters here have rightly complained about the slow progress shown. For Tlou to actually secure a PPA and related funding is significant achievement. But there ability to accelerate the speed of project delivery is probably constrained - there is much repair and refurb work to be done on the entire power grid and not many qualified local contractors able to perform the work.
Tlou’s 66kv line is frankly a bit of a runt project for those tasked with ensuing the main power lines that traverse the country remain operational. Ie Tlou probably does not have much bargaining power or ability to influence timings.
Off course, I could be wrong…. feel free to bet against me. And lose.
https://thepatriot.co.bw/health-takes-lion-share-at-p10-billion/
Paras 20 and 21 mentioning CBM at Kodibeleng, which is good.
If it is 100km to Serowe, how far is it to Orapa.
Well at least I can agree with that post HB; even if it is part directed at me.
Smith - it is clear to all here that researching and posting on Tlou occupies much of your day and mind. That is entirely up to you. I am big enough to admit I find most of what you post nauseating in the extreme, and I respond ‘back at you’ style.
But now, with this crypto nonsense and the way you and friends kick off ‘back at me’ rather than attempt to deep dive into whether or not crypto is a viable business stream for Tlou (it isn’t imo, but that is my opinion to which I am entitled), yawl just drown out the board with as much ballix posts as myself.
I’m bored. You are boring. This board is a cess pit, in part down to me. 6 Nations about to start. Spring just around the corner. Am going to adopt BTS approach with posting, maybe after each quarterly update release. Until there are multiple boots on the ground, digging holes and drilling, there really is FA to say here.
See ya xxxx
Since we are talking about ‘tools’, am anyone show me an RNS from any other listed plc that includes a comment on the Update on Progress to shareholders saying they have had explatory conversation with someone about partnering with a crypto mining activity?!
Morris - why don’t you spell out how crypto works for Tlou. How and where does the miner connect with Tlou’s assets or infrastructure given you think it is an ‘interesting’ opportunity.
Give us something to focus a conversation around - detail etc.
Hey Smith, I started the 2p or not 2p. I will sue you for copyright if you try starting a new thread on same topic. You have been warned now !!
Amazes me how one guy takes so much abuse from so many here for being guilty of nothing more than ‘calling it right’. Since 2017 no less. Calling it right for over 4 years.
Classic shoot the messenger syndrome don’t you think ……
Sorry lads, I was being sarcastic in last post. My bad. Again.
Introducing a licensing regime in Botswana will drastically reduce the interest there for operators to set up shop. You can figure out for yourselves whether that is good or bad for Tlou prospects. No doubt yawl will think Tlou would have been their number 1 choice for site/ source/ etc. Good luck with that.
And keep living thise happy dreams. Oops my bad again
Thanks for clarifying chaps. Gosh I am surprised though the market didn’t react and correct now that everyone knows.
I love the way I provide yawl a lightning rod to steer clear of the problems besetting Tlou. Would I be sticking my neck out, yet again, if I was silly enough to suggest that even you good folks must be getting a little, a lot, worried about the levels of market interest here….
Nah, I didn’t think so. Keep living yer dreams lads ! Coz that the only happy place I see for Tlou at present
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-02-02/botswana-to-regulate-crypto-that-was-feared-becoming-wild-west
Looks like the only people believing the crypto BS are a few on this message board.
Another self-inflicted wound to the credibility of Tlou.
“The tariff proposal for the financial year 2022/23 is based on the yearly determination of the required revenue to meet the operating, maintenance and financing costs of the Corporation. The proposal also considered future energy demands especially from Large Power Users such as mines,” reads the report.
Contained in the report is that the projected tariff increase of 5 percent in the 2022/23 financial year provides the required revenue of P6.155 billion. Added is that the P6.155 billion is made up of return on regulated asset base and total expenses of P1.437 billion and P4.718 billion respectively. Also stated is that the consumer tariff subsidy from the government of Botswana would be P500 million.
BPC stated is that the required 2023/24 projected sales revenue is P4.592 billion which translates into revenue growth rate of 11percent compared to the 2021/22 financial year. The 11 percent revenue growth rate is made up of 5 percent and 6 percent for tariff increase and average energy consumption growth respectively.
The Corporation stated that it is undertaking the various measures to reduce costs and improve operational efficiencies, and that Morupule B Power Station (MBPS) low availability remains the single largest factor in the financial sustainability of the Corporation due to high dependence on power imports to meet the local demand. Added is that the corporation is currently undertaking remedial works programme at MBPS to rectify the construction and equipment defects.
“We have implemented the revenue protection initiatives to reduce non-technical losses due to revenue leakages through illegal connections and other fraudulent activities. Also considered is the process to convert Orapa Power Plant from diesel to use cheaper gas fuel commenced in the financial year 2020/21 and it is anticipated to be completed in the financial year 2023/24,” reads the statement
Botswana Power Corporation (BPC) says it undertook an assessment of the required revenue for the financial year 2022/23 for the corporation to meet its operating, maintenance and financing costs of P6.155 billion coupled with P500 million consumer tariff subsidy from the government of Botswana.
The required revenue is attainable by 5 percent electricity tariff increase across all customer categories. The corporation has revealed that it is expected to continue recording under recovery of costs for every unit of electricity sold until the financial year 2023/24.
“Because of this revenue shortfall, there is need for the Corporation to continue receiving P500 million yearly tariff support from the Government of Botswana in the same period. This financial support is meant to cushion the customers from sudden increases in electricity tariffs,” reads the statement.
Information contained in the electricity tariff adjustment proposal for the 2022/23 financial year, BPC’s recurring precarious financial position was mainly due to non-cost reflective tariffs, low availability of Morupule B Power Station and the increasing cost of imported power. Stated is that consequently, the government of Botswana continues to subsidize the corporation in order to cushion the impact of non-cost reflective electricity tariffs. However, this subsidy has significantly reduced over the last five years without being matched by corresponding electricity tariff increases.
The report notes that on the global scale, the African countries still have a long way to go. Nonetheless, a host of countries across the continent have started the Africa rising narrative. The African countries make 17 of the bottom of the bottom 20 countries in the Global Competitiveness Index 2019. Mauritius and South Africa are among the few bright spots, being the only two countries in the top half of the index.
It is also reckoned by the report that in the decades ahead, Africa can become a major contributor to and driver of global growth, just as Asia has been. However, for this to be true, Africa’s industrialization would have to be underpinned by a robust infrastructure financing programme. This requires a global financing pact among advanced and developing countries, a shift in strategic approaches, and new models of financing.
However, political instability remains one of the key challenges in the growth path of Africa. The policy landscape, especially that related to infrastructure is still at a nascent stage. Besides, the PPP is still evolving and fraught with several challenges.
As per industry experts, inadequate availability of funds for project development and preparation renders projects unviable. Across African countries, the Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted “structural gaps in national health care systems, corruption risks associated with public procurement and the misappropriation of emergency funds”.
McKinsey & Company reckons that closing the infrastructure gap matter greatly for the continent’s economic development, for the quality of life of its people, and for the growth of its business sector.
Another research study titled “Investment and market Opportunities in Africa 2021 – 22 by the India Infrastructure Research acknowledges that Africa is seen as one of the world’s fastest growing regions and infrastructure development will help to catalyze the growth.
“The continent’s vast infrastructure deficit is a constraint on its growth, but also an opportunity to leapfrog to new, more efficient business models and technologies”, states the research paper which further reckons that “infrastructure development plays a major role in promoting growth and reducing poverty in Africa”.
According to the African Development Bank (AfDB), Africa’s infrastructure needs have increased overtime, reaching $130 – 170 billion a year by 2018, with a deficit of $68 – 108 billion.
Energy infrastructure seems to be the most in need of financing in Africa, followed by water and sanitation. Transport infrastructure comes a close third in funding needs. However, Africa is reportedly performing much better in telecommunications than in any infrastructure sector.
The President of Botswana, Mokgweetsi Masisi has named Eric Molale – Member of Parliament for GoodHope/Mabule as the country’s new minister of Infrastructure Development. The appointment of Molale follows a cabinet reshuffle forced by the resignation of former Employment, Labour Productivity and Skills Development minister – Mpho Balopi. Balopi’s exit two days before the 2021 Christmas day has been linked to the bickering within the ruling Botswana Democratic Party (BDP). Molale replaces Dr Thapelo Matsheka who at some point was Finance and Economic Development Minister.
In a brief interview with SUNDAY STANDARD last week Monday, Matsheka confirmed his drop from cabinet. “It is true that I am no longer a member of cabinet.”
Molale who replaces Matsheka at Infrastructure has also been linked to the Balopi-Matsheka faction within the BDP. Molale’s takeover at Infrastructure Ministry comes at a time when studies have shown that infrastructure deficit constrains Africa’s growth and poverty reduction.
A 2020 empirical research study conducted by McKinsey & Company that examined Africa’s infrastructure paradox, and its root causes found that “there is need and available funding, together with a large pipeline of potential projects – but not enough money is being spent”.
It is acknowledged by the study that most of Africa lags behind the rest of the world in the coverage of key infrastructure classes, including energy, road and rail transport, and water infrastructure not leaving behind electricity infrastructure as generator-based power in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) was found to cost three to six times what grid consumers pay across the world.
One very important detail of how former president Ian Khama fled into South Africa has emerged. Khama fled on November 8 (a Monday) last year through the Martin’s Drift border gate, a few hours before a deadline to hand over some pistols in his possession was due to lapse. That detail is that a day before, a two-man reconnaissance team had checked into a nearby lodge with a mission to assess whether it was safe for the former president to use this border gate.
Khama had spent the weekend in Serowe, his home village, and travelled back on Monday morning. A few days earlier, the Directorate of Intelligence and Security Services (DISS) had ordered him to surrender the pistols and after a fruitless back and forth, which mostly took the form of a spat between him and DISS in the media, the latter issued a 12 noon deadline for November 8. “Deadline” was explicit implication that a confrontation was highly possible. This confrontation could have been physical (deadly even) because part of Khama’s protection team is made up of private, ex-commando bodyguards.
There was understanding, even among Khama’s official bodyguards, that when he left Serowe, he was returning to Gaborone – which has been his principal home for more than half a century. However, after joining the A1 Highway at Palapye and driving for a few kilometres in Gaborone’s direction, Khama’s two-car convoy suddenly made a sharp turn left at the Martin’s Drift and sped towards the border. This would suggest that the recon team, sent the previous day to check the coast, had given the all-clear.
With the deadline nearing, time was of the essence. As a holder of a diplomatic passport, Khama doesn’t queue up in an immigration line but just zips through to the head of the queue and gets red-carpet treatment all the way. He shed his bodyguards, clearing immigration and proceeded towards the South African border gate.
In both Botswana and South Africa, the principal residents of the border community in the Martin’s Drift area are white farmers that Khama has been friendly with for decades. For racial and commercial reasons, this is a close-knit community. After completing clearing immigration at the South Africa gate, Khama got into a waiting car. At a point where the 12 noon deadline had elapsed, he was driven to a nearby farm and would later be helicoptered deeper into the interior. He has been in South Africa since with no indication of when he might return.