- Tsaone Segaetsho
Sources within the Botswana-bred, BSE-listed telecommunications company, Botswana Telecommunications Corporation Limited (BTC), have informed this publication that Boitumelo Paya is the leading contender to permanently replace former CEO Anthony Masunga.
Recently, BTC announced that Masunga and the company had reached a mutual separation agreement. Sources expressed surprise at Masunga’s departure, as he had been with the telecoms company for nearly two decades. Elevated by the BTC board in 2017, Masunga has since played a pivotal role in the company.
BTC, while reportedly letting him go “amicably” according to sources, acknowledged Masunga’s instrumental contributions. The board secretary of BTC noted last week that Masunga was vital in overseeing a period of transformation for the company following its listing on the Botswana Stock Exchange.
“Under his leadership, BTC has seen accelerated investment in technology, resulting in expanded service offerings in the market, thus strengthening BTC’s position in the telecommunications industry within Botswana,” wrote the BTC board of directors recently.
Many within the company are looking forward to a new leader. Former CFO, Paya, has taken over as interim CEO. Paya was appointed by the BTC board as CFO just as the country entered lockdown in 2020.
During that challenging time, she joined BTC with over 20 years of experience in financial management. Paya boasts an impressive CV, having started her career as an audit intern at KPMG before rising to the position of supervisor in the same department. She then moved into the banking sector, where she served as a finance manager at the FNBB arm, First Funding.
After FNBB, she became a finance manager at AED before embarking on a 12-year career in the beverage sector, working across the SADC region. She began with the local brewer KBL in 2007 before moving overseas to become finance executive at SAB Miller Group, UK.
Paya returned to Africa as finance director of SAB Miller, Malawi, before joining the Botswana and Namibia SAB Miller AB InBev Group in 2018. She then joined BTC and now sits at the helm of the telecoms company, which carries the nation’s high expectations following its privatisation and listing on the local stock market.
Paya inherits the CEO role at a time when BTC is performing well, with a stable share price that has been at P1.03 and remained flat until Tuesday this week before press time. For the financial year ending 31 March 2024, BTC reported a profit before tax of P200 million, a 35 per cent increase from the previous period. Overall revenue was P1.436 billion, representing a growth of 3 per cent compared to the prior year.
