Moatshe’s future at LEA unclear
Local Enterprise Authority (LEA) CEO, Racious Moatshe’s future at the parastatal is uncertain as reports emerged this week that he has parted ways with the organisation after five years at the helm.
BusinessWeek is informed that Moatshe’s contract was not renewed but the reasons behind the decision could not be ascertained.
On Wednesday, the CEO did not offer a comment on the issue, while board chair, Lorato Ntakhwana could not be reached. Trade and Industry minister, Mmusi Kgafela did not respond to calls on Wednesday, while Dumi Lopang, Ntakhwana’s deputy chair at LEA, could also not be reached.
Information gathered by BusinessWeek indicates that Moatshe has already left his post and a process is underway to find a replacement.
The CEO joined LEA in 2017 from Business Botswana, tasked with boosting entrepreneurial capacity amongst Small, Medium and Micro Enterprises
(SMMEs).
During his tenure at
LEA, Moatshe oversaw the launch of LEA’s
‘2019–2023’ strategy that seeks to reduce the country’s massive import bill and help SMMEs to survive past the infancy stage.
According to the organisation’s last annual report, during the 2020–21 financial year, LEA helped produce 483 business plans which were submitted to various funding institutions out of which 140 were funded to the value of P66.8 million.
During the same year, SMMEs increased their turnover by a commendable 80% from P274.5 million to P495.6 million. LEA attributed this to robust and effective growth strategies that it develops for SMMEs to transform their business operations.
During his tenure at LEA, Moatshe also oversaw the disbursement of P100 million to informal sector participants as part of the Industrial Support Facility from government designed to help the economy through the COVID-19 impact.
Moatshe has a PhD and other high-level qualifications as well as extensive experience at senior levels within the banking and finance sector including the then Barclays Bank of Botswana, Standard Chartered Bank, Citizen Entrepreneurial Development Agency, and the then Botswana Building Society.
He is also a former lecturer at the Botswana International University of Science and Technology where he was Head of the Department for the Centre of Management and Entrepreneurship Studies.