Tumelo Setshogo
5 September 2008
Sechaba is an investment company with interests in Kgalagadi Breweries Limited (KBL) and Botswana Breweries Limited (BBL). According to the 2008 annual report, which was released to shareholders last week, KBL has continued to intervene positively in the social arena.
To-date, millions of pula have been injected into several projects, among them Somarelang Tikologo's Eco Park in Gaborone, Kickstart, Road Safety campaigns, the Business Place, SOS Children's Village in Serowe, responsible drinking campaigns and Chibuku Shebeens Upgrade programme. Kickstart entered its third year "during the year under review with another P1 million sponsorship, which brought the total funding for the three years to P3 million." Kickstart is focused exclusively on potential young entepreneurs.
The report says 13 businesses spread across Botswana have been funded, with four projects in Tlokweng, Gaborone, Bobonong and Digawana receiving grants amounting to over P300 000. The report notes that efforts to assist the government to create employment outside the normal business setting "are significantly boosted by Kickstart, which has generated 48 jobs to-date." "Pre-funding business skills training courses provided to potential grant winners have also played a noticeable role in preparing aspiring entrepreneurs for funding opportunities that exist outside of Kickstart." KBT has spent a total of P450 000 on The Business Place where to-date 96 entrepreneurs have been trained in business management and 51 aspiring entrepreneurs assisted in business plan writing, 65 in costing and pricing and 30 in presentation skills.
To continue with its endeavours to assist entrepreneurs, KBT has placed an advert in newspapers inviting eligible young people to submit project proposals to compete for funding under the Kickstart programme.
This invitation comes at a time when Sechaba and its stakeholders are working around the clock to discourage Government not to implement the threatened 70 percent levy on alcoholic beverages. They say if it is implemented, it will affect Sechaba's corporate social responsibility programme, which includes Kickstart and the Business Place. Also threatened by the levy are road safety campaigns on which KBL has so far contributed P750 000. The Sechaba annual report says KBL has committed another P187 500 for the next financial year. This is a tripartite campaign in which KBL has teamed up with Motor Vehicle Accident Fund (MVA) and BOMAID to encourage the reduction of incidents of drunk driving and improved road safety in general.
Under the Responsible Drinking campaigns, the report says the group continued to work hard at improving the manner in which customers consume the Group's products. At KBL, "a 'Draw the Line' responsible drinking campaign was embarked upon which was geared at highlighting the often ignored differences between use and abuse, legal and illegal, responsible and irresponsible and examining the various behaviours associated with alcohol consumption." The report also says KBT continues to explore other opportunities to give its shareholders something to smile about in their respective communities. "The Trust will continue to invest in HIV and AIDS programmes inside and outside the organisation," it says. The Baylor Children's Clinic outreach project, which was funded to the tune of P1 million for three years, has registered more than the targeted 1 000 children under the ARV rollout programme.
"Looking forward, the Trust will continue to focus its efforts in community values, creating projects that will propel the beneficiaries beyond the initial sponsorship," the report says.
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