Africa-Press – Botswana. The Botswana Power Corporation (BPC) has recently experienced delays in settling payments to some of its suppliers. This was said by the Minister of Minerals and Energy, Ms Bogolo Kanewendo in response to Tati East Member of Parliament on Monday, who wanted clarification on the number of Botswana contractors who were owed by the corporation since 2019, the total amount owed and what was being done to normalise its operations and pay contractors on time.
Minister Kenewendo explained that the delays were largely driven by significant financial pressures arising from elevated power import costs over the past several years.
“It is important to highlight that for the 2022/23, 2023/24 and 2024/25 financial years, there were no corresponding electricity tariff adjustments despite sustained increases in the cost of generation and supply,” said Minister Kenewendo.
She stated that the structural misalignment between revenue and operating costs had placed considerable strain on BPC’s liquidity position, thereby affecting its ability to consistently meet supplier obligations within the prescribed timeframes.
Notwithstanding these challenges, she said BPC remained committed to restoring financial stability, strengthening internal controls, and improving payment turnaround times.
The Minister said as at October 31, BPC confirmed that there were no outstanding invoices dating back to 2019, and that should any supplier provide evidence or invoices from that period, BPC was ready to investigate and resolve the matter promptly.
Minister Kanewendo further stated that the corporation acknowledged outstanding invoices relating to the 2020 to 2023, valued at P3.72 million, owed to five small works contractors.
The delays in concluding these payments primarily stemmed from unresolved technical issues encountered during project commissioning, which prolonged the verification and final acceptance processes required prior to payment, Minister Kenewendo said.
She said the corporation had among others, instituted a suite of interventions aimed at improving its financial position and normalising payment performance.
Minister Kenenwendo assured the House of BPC commitment to further stabilising its operations and ensuring that contractors were paid timeously in line with contractual requirements or obligations.
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