Boidus Focus - Vol 5, Issue 3 [Mar 2015] by Boidus Botswana

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BOTSWANA’S BUILT ENVIRONMENT NEWSPAPER | Vol. 5, Issue 3 | march 2015 HOME IMPROVEMENT

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INTERNATIONAL NEWS

DIY Special: How to build

Your Own Stairs

consumer education

Feature: A New New Cairo:

Egypt’s £30bn capital p15

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MAIN FEATURE

Long Road Ahead for MISTDecentralisation; Maintenance; Buildings Audit; Industry SelfRegulation; DBES Transformation By Kibo Ngowi

BBS Practical Advice Guide: Buying a House p5

Get to Builders Warehouse.

Get it done! SPEAK TO US ABOUT A TRADE ACCOUNT! BUILDERS WAREHOUSE BOTSWANA: GABORONE: Airport Junction Shopping Centre, Plot No. 70665, A1 Road, Tel: 00267 393 0533

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MONDAY TO FRIDAY: 7AM - 6PM; SATURDAY: 7AM - 4PM; SUNDAY AND PUBLIC HOLIDAYS: 8AM - 2PM

Barclays moves with the

times with innovative

CBD Headquarters By Kibo Ngowi

Francistown Stadium-One of the incomplete projects under MIST

Minister N. Molefhi

Boidus Focus delves into the new Barclays headquarters in the Gaborone CBD and finds a remarkable work of corporate architecture boasting five stories, two levels of basement parking and 4500sqm of floor space for seating. The bank’s Head of Corporate Real

Estate Solutions takes us inside this new addition to the Capital City’s skyline and reveals a building designed with an emphasis on communication, environmental sustainability, performanceenhancing technology and peoplecentred working conditions. p6,7

superkilen-park Copenhagen

SSKI Airport-One of the incomplete projects under MIST

In an exclusive wide-ranging interview with Boidus Focus, the Minister of Infrastructure, Science & Technology Hon. Nonofo Molefhi and the Permanent Secretary of the same ministry Dikagiso Mokotedi open up about the priorities of Government’s main construction arm go-

ing forward. Decentralisation, Maintenance, Government Building Audits, Industry self-regulation and the transformation of DBES were some of the topics on the agenda. See inside for the full story.

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PUBLICATION OIDUS FOCUS

How to Create Safer

Neighbourhoods In recent months, some say years, Botswana has experienced an alarming trend of rising crime, especially in the cities and towns. Countless voices, running the gamut from politicians to prophets, have pointed to everything from high unemployment to rapid urbanisation as the root cause of the

MEDIA EVENTS

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Sustainability Today: 06 Starting blocks with

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NEWS | page 02

EDITORIAL | page 04

Letlole Larona Breaks Ground at the Kromberg and Schubert Botswana (Pty) Plant

Government to Promote IntroHow ready is Botswana for duction of Residential Developthe Inevitable Change towards BOIDUS FEATURE > Decarbonisation targets? ment into the CBD Global

SUSTAINABILITY | page 06

| Volume 4, Issue 7 | AUGUST 2014

Education Feature: Factors to Consider 18 When 15 Botho University Builds Establishing Francistown Campus

Sector Regulation

EDUCATION | pages 15

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Guide to School Programmes: 2013 Built Environment Careers Guide

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Botswana’s Architecture design & Urban Landscape Newspaper | M A R C H 2 0 1 3 NEWS | page 02

BUILDINGS | page 06

A Luta Continua on the Land Question Airport Roof Gone with the Wind

The Idea of Eco Cities: Need for harmony between policy and green initiatives

Meet three of Botswana’s best Event Feature: State of our CitiesBDC FAIRSCAPE PRECINCT, The rising engineers

HOUSING | page 16

PRACTICE | pages 14, 18

Buy or Build a new Home: The Pros and Cons

Disentangling the Web – A Look at Infrastructure Project Management

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Felix Chavaphi, founder of Norcon Group; Tapa Moseki, partner at Engineering CBD Executive Seminar Event Partners International; Matlhodi Keaikitse, partner at Ezra’s Contracting Services Realm of Splendor - Live, Work & Play With Breath taking Views by Kibo Ngowi Bringing together key CBD stakeholders such as landowners and developers to engage on issues that affect their developments and investment

BR Properties - Botswana’s first Parastatal Property Investment Subsidiary

“Public Piazza, Mixed Use Podium and Sky gardens coming to Gaborone”

by Kibo Ngowi & HK Mokwete

Red East Construction: Award Winning Chinese Contractor

by Kibo Ngowi

BR Properties is a pioneer organisation as it is the first example of a company established to commercially exploit the real estate assets of a Botswana Government enterprise. The performance of this company will serve as a test case for many other

by Kibo Ngowi / H. Killion Mokwete Boidus Focus sat down with the Managing Director of Red East Construction, a Subsidiary of the Zhengtai Group Mr Zhu Dexiang to try and understand what has set this Chinese construction

company apart from its counterparts and defied the perception of poor construction workmanship as a uniquely Chinese problem. >>> CONTINUED PAGE 07

departments with ambitions of creating similar entities. Boidus Focus met with BR Properties Managing Director Oarabile Zhikhwa to explore the brief history and long-term ambitions of her organisation. >>> CONTINUED PAGE 05

LEFT: Felix Chavaphi, MIDDLE: Tapa Moseki, RIGHT: Matlhodi Keaikitse

“I would say that as an engineer, especially in the construction field, experience is crucial, which is why firms tend to only hire engineers with a high amount of experience for senior project roles. And that’s understandable to me, because as much as you can go to school and read books, there’s no substitute for actually being involved in a project...” - Matlhodi Keaikitse

Government to Promote Introduction of Residential Development into the CBD

Top: Guests and delegates at the CBD Event Bottom: Architect and Urban Designer Jo Noero from Noero Architects and University of Cape Town Right: Hon. Assistant Minister of Trade and Industry, Keletso J. Rakhudu, officially opening the event

The Boidus Media, State of our CitiesCBD Executive Seminar recently held at Masa Centre was by any measure a resounding success. The Seminar event brought together for the first time ever in Botswana, key stakeholders of the New CBD development such as investors, development owners, government, industry champions

and the public in sharing of ideas and opportunities about our upcoming CBD. Envisaged as the future heart of Gaborone City, the CBD is slowly taking shape and the seminar sought to make it a centre stage focus of discussions and professional deliberations. In this Boidus Focus Special, find event abstracts:

As you reflect on the ‘challenges and opportunities’ of developing a CBD, I would like to encourage all of you to think of this as what our generation will be remembered for having done, not only for this City, but for the nation, albeit through the toughest times. Assistant Min. of Trade & Industry, Hon. Keletso J. Rakhudu

“In this line of work you need to put yourself in a position where you have interest

and ownership Extract Seminar Paper Presentation by Jobe Ofetotse, DTRP of the projects you’re deal-

ing with because structural engineering is a sensitive field in that we are dealing Introduction failings of the CBD concept but more with peoples’ safety. We are putting up Thank you to the organizers for inviting challenging to come up with solutions which are going to house lives DTRP to contribute to this important where problems havestructures been identified. A Successful CBD represents among other things; and highly topical seminar. That is what we hopeso theyou seminar will approach this profession can’t • A success CBD Image of the city and the country Felix Chavaphi Portfolio concentrate upon. as simply a job. You have to see it as a • Generation of the country’s prosperity of Botswana Library at a cost of P54 • Successful partnership between the Government & PVT[TOP] sector University In organizing it, BOIDUS have directly responsibility and a privilege.” Dimitri Kokinos: Portfolio Structuring Manager (Stanlib) million with Murray & Roberts responded to our concern that it is easy From a DTRP standpoint, the forum [BOTTOM] Gaborone Shopping - Tapa Moseki >>> CONTINUED PAGES 08, 13, 18 >>> CONTINUED PAGE 04 to be criticalTaxi and Rank identify perceived Complex by Boidus Admin

Plot 7 at a cost of P2million with Murray & Roberts

>>> CONTINUED PAGES 03, 04, & 06

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FNB’s CBD HQ – Intelligent Corporate Architecture by Kibo Ngowi

First National Bank (FNB) has moved into its newly built headquarters in Gaborone’s rapidly developing Central Business District (CBD). Located in plot 54362, the Head Office called First Place, boasts the banks’ “one-stopshop” capability. With an expansion of

the office facilities accommodating all the Bank’s divisions such as Electronic Banking, Private Banking, Property Finance, WesBank, Firstcard to mention but a few, customers get a full bouquet of FNBB products under one roof. >>> CONTINUED PAGE 07

Birds-eye view

A Fresh Approach to Buiding a Home - Inside House Agolen II

by Leago Public Piazza

Sebina

As stakes an architect, opportunity to inopposed viewed, With high in the Botswana ofreality one area. to the way it is usually views from across the City. Boidus building offers, not only the as being static. There is no other ficedesign market,a Botswana Development was buildrecently given exclusive tour of Corporation’s is ofThe which been such the construction site to experience creation of aFairscape physical Precinct expression the Iconic ing tower typology thathas embodies a nosetbuilding to raise the barbut of also what the quality slowly emerging off the skyline first hand itself, possibility tion of architecture thanofthe house, the this exciting project as it office space is by delivering an AFairgrounds is setting unmissable becomes reality. for architecture to mould the life and most basic and primal form of shelter grade mixed use development which view of a gleaming honey comb memories of its inhabitants. Therefor human beings. will see work, play and live become lattice structure with unparalleled >>> CONTINUED PAGES 08, 13 fore, one could argue that architecture should be thought of as being alive as

>>> CONTINUED PAGE 14

Office of the President

The Relocation of the Office of The President Is it the Right Move Or Not? by HK Mokwete

The current debate in parliament over a budget allocation request of P195 million for the purposes of augmenting funds to either- acquire or build a new office block to house the Office of

the President (OP) is missing the bigger picture of what should be debated when procuring the office space for the ‘Highest Office in the Land.’ >>> CONTINUED PAGE 04

CBD EXECUTIVE SEMINAR - Oct 2014 CBD EXECUTIVE SEMINAR - May 2013 DESIGNER’S FORUM - Apr 2012 BOTSWANA PROPERTY MARKET - Coming Feb 2015 BOTSWANA PROPERTY MARKET - Sep 2013 HOUSING AFFORDABILITY IN BOTSWANA - Mar 2012 FNBB AFFORDABLE HOUSING MARKET - Dec 2013

[

problem. Whatever the source of this quandary residents now find themselves in, the point is to find a workable solution. Boidus Focus discusses how the secret to making our homes safer in a climate of rising crime may lie in rethinking the way we design our neighbourhoods. p10,11

SOCIAL MEDIA Professionals Information Seekers Students Organization Affiliations Find us online:

]

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LOCAL NEWS P2

BOIDUS FOCUS MARCH 2015

News Briefs March 2015

Compiled by Keeletsang P. Dipheko

Olopeng Fancies Palapye as capital city

VISION

Pizmond Investments (Pty) Ltd is to become a global leader in marketing waterproofing products awnd other building industrial and commercial maintenance and construction structures.

The MP for Tonota Mr. Thapelo Olopeng has said Palapye qualifies to be turned into the Capital City. Debating the Ministry of Lands and Housing’s 2015/2016 budget proposal of P1.67 Billion in Parliament recently, Mr. Olopeng said Palapye is endowed with the necessary amenities to contain the pressures of a capital city adding that its location was suitable as it is surrounded by lakes and dams which will ensure adequate water to supply the city. He said given the already existing infrastructural developments in Gaborone, it should instead be turned into a commercial city, noting that this practice has been adopted in other countries.

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Lands and Housing proposes over P400 million for Land Servicing The Ministry of Lands and Housing has proposed a developmental budget of P429 million for land servicing. The current situation of shortage of land in Gaborone has led to an expansion of the city into surrounding villages. However, in the financial year 2014/15, the ministry failed to spend the P5 million allocated for the Gaborone expansion plan, which had been allocated close to P2 million. Minister of Lands and Housing Prince Maele recently told Parliament that the planning and design of a 5000ha site is required for the expansion of the city.

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Self-Regulation Can Transform Construction Sector – MIST MINISTER

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The Ministry of Infrastructure, Science and Technology is working towards creating a conducive environment to improve the performance of the construction industry. Minister Nonofo Molefhi recently told parliament that he is currently facilitating the implementation of robust regulatory structures and processes in the infrastructure development sector. He said for the past two and a half years his ministry has established three registration boards to register all engineers, quantity surveyors and architects. “Regarding the review of the Building Control Act and related regulations aimed at easing doing business in Botswana, the layman’s drafting of the regulations is on-going and once completed it will be considered by the Building Regulations Board,” said the minister.

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BOIDUS FOCUS MARCH 2015

GUEST COLUMNIST P3

First-Time ‘Buyer Panic’ May be Mounting First-time buyer demand in South Africa is still strong but affordability pressures and "buyer panic" may be mounting. This is according to the 1st Quarter 2015 FNB Estate Agent Survey, which indicates a strong estimate of first-time buying levels expressed as a percentage of total home buying, however, this is down a little off the peak percentage of a few quarters ago. "We believe that the mild decline may just point to rising challenges regarding home affordability of late," says John Loos, Household and Property Sector Strategist at FNB. According to the sample of agents surveyed, first-time buyers were estimated at 25% of total home buyers, which is “mildly lower than the 28% high of the 2nd quarter of 2014, and the percentage has now been lower than last year’s high point for three consecutive quarters, causing the smoothed trend line to point slightly downward”.

An increasing number of first-time buyers appear to be concerned about house price increases and affordability challenges, based on their response to the “buyer panic” survey question. Loos says this is where aspirant first-time residential market entrants begin to fear that if they don’t buy a home quickly, the price levels will rise to levels where property becomes unaffordable for them. Loos says both the FNB Home Affordability measures, namely, the Average House Price/Average Labour Remuneration Ratio, as well as the 100% Instalment on an Average Home Loan/Average Labour Remuneration Ratio, started to rise in 2014 after prior years of decline, the net result of house price inflation exceeding wage growth, and the minor interest rate hikes last year.

"When such panic sets in, it can cause inappropriately high levels of first-time buying, with a portion of first-time buyers overextending themselves financially as they attempt to get a foot in the property market 'before it is too late'. "This, in turn, can cause market price 'overshoots' or sometimes what economists describe as 'price bubbles' - while the market still appears far from 'crazy', buyer panic must always be a concern where it exists," says Loos. (Property24)

Construction Insurance – Placement of Cover By Christopher Burton

Likewise, an insurance policy may not cover all the risks an organisation is exposed to; “design” being an example. Insurance Placement – I am a firm believer that the placement of contract works insurance should be carried out where possible by the employer; known as Principally Controlled Insurance. An employer has the most to lose and it is in their interest to ensure that one comprehensive contract works policy is purchased covering the entire project. In this article I would like to highlight some of the basic areas that need to be considered when arranging single project construction insurance. The Construction Contract – There are many different standard forms of contract with varying divisions of responsibility for the works, of which both the insurer and the insured need to have a sound knowledge. An employer will frequently impose amendments to these standard forms, either by direct alteration of the printed form or by special clauses; so a study of the general conditions, special conditions, specifications and bills of quantities is essential to form an assessment of the responsibilities of the various parties to the contract. Whatever conditions are used however, it is unlikely to deal with all the risks a contractor is exposed to and will more than likely only deal with minimum requirements. Some years ago a contractor was awarded a road contract and elected to import a crusher. The crusher was damaged on the high seas which resulted in the rescheduling of the construction programme and the contractor incurring an uninsured increased cost to complete the project.

When in Doubt – always provide your insurance adviser with more rather than less information as this can only result in a more competitive premium with better terms and conditions. Information necessary to obtain a competitive quotation will include a full description of the work to be carried out, details of contract conditions, special conditions, construction method and programme, together with a summary bill of quantities. Free Issue Materials – A works damage policy covers loss or damage to the temporary and permanent works and the premium is calculated by applying a rate to the estimated final contract value. Where the employer supplies certain materials for incorporation into the contract site, known as free issue materials, their value must be added to the estimated final contract value to ensure that this property is protected by the works damage policy. Non-recurring Costs – Certain costs within a construction project may be non-recurring and therefore never be claimable in terms of any potential loss or damage. An example would be clearing and grubbing under a road project or the purchase of capital plant and vehicles

(where insurance is placed separately). When negotiating premiums, these costs with the approval of the insurer should be removed before the rate is applied to calculate the premium. Escalation – Most works damage policies will allow for contract escalation, post loss escalation and devaluation of currency escalation. The contractual conditions may require escalation of between 10 and 30 percent. The policy sum insured is the full estimated final contract value and escalation is catered for in terms of an escalation clause. Premium is calculated on this estimated final contract figure at commencement of the contract and is adjustable on expiry of the project on the actual final contract value (including actual escalation). This is the correct method of calculating works damage policy premiums. However, certain contracts require that the contractor purchase a policy where the policy sum insured is increased above the initial contract price to include an additional escalation percentage. Therefore the initial premium payable will be higher (often 15% higher). Whenever I have enquired about the reason for this increased sum, insured consultants have always cited the need to include additional professional fees. This is wrong in my opinion! Professional fees under a construction policy are catered for either by a specific clause or in terms of an “Additional Costs” clause which will also include costs such as temporary repairs, debris removal and expediting costs etc. Insurers will often provide reasonable limits at no additional premium. These limits should be in addition to the main sum insured.

Sub-limits – Some policies may have sub-limits for items such as transit and off-site storage. These must be adequate for purpose. Deductibles – Where a works damage quotation refers to “MajorPeril and MinorPeril deductibles” you must ensure that the definition of these terms is provided. They may vary from insurer to insurer. Policy Restrictions – With road and pipeline projects insurers will want to restrict the amount of base course under construction and open trenching that they are willing to pay for following an insured event. It is important that these restrictions combined with the size of the deductible still provide an adequate amount of cover and allow you to carry out the project timeously and efficiently. Extensions of the contract period – Having been a broker for a number of years I don’t believe insurers should necessarily charge a pro-rata additional premium. The insurer should be provided with reasons for the extension, details of the value of property handed over and the value of work completed but not handed over. This should determine the additional premium required. When placing single project works policies one should ensure that, subject to payment of an additional premium, extensions of the contract period should be automatic. Having to place a half completed project can be difficult and expensive. Remember, cheap is not always the best as the extent of cover can vary considerably according to the premium. Christopher Burton is an Underwriting Manager at BIC

MAIN FEATURE P4

BOIDUS FOCUS MARCH 2015

Long Road Ahead for MIST By Kibo Ngowi

maintenance and to what extent they require it. As to whether such an audit has been conducted, Mokotedi says that to some extent there is an inhouse audit being done but insists that it would not make sense for MIST to go all out and do a conditioned survey for everything. He explains that if you’re to audit all the buildings in the country this year but you’re not able to do work on all of them immediately the report will become out-dated. Three years down the line you can’t use that same report because the process of wear and tear is continuous. This is why the ministry is eager to put in place a system in which once they have renewed a building they can engage a facility manager for a defined period of time to ensure that every little thing that breaks up is addressed well in time so the country never again has to deal with a backlog of maintenance.

Continued from the FRONT PAGE Boidus Focus sat down for an exclusive interview with the Minister of Infrastructure, Science & Technology Hon. Nonofo Molefhi and the Permanent Secretary of the same ministry Dikagiso Mokotedi to gain some insight into MIST’s priorities going forward.

Maintenance The construction industry suffered what might be called a government spending freeze in the past few budget years as government focused funds on maintenance of existing buildings with very little money spent on new projects, much to the dismay of professionals, many of whom were quoted as saying the industry is in crisis. This year’s budget seems to represent a change a course for government though as a significant expenditure has been put into new projects while the emphasis on maintenance projects has been reduced. However, when questioned on the significance of this shift from a MIST point of view, Molefhi is quick to highlight that the budget has been decentralised. “In the past we (MIST) held everything for all of government. Now that has been decentralised to all ministries,” says Molefhi. “That doesn’t imply that there is a reduced level of allocation of maintenance money. In fact it’s quite possible that if you were to sum up the maintenance expenditure for all the ministries it may even exceed that of previous years.” Permanent Secretary Dikagiso Mokotedi echoes

the minister’s sentiments: “You’ve got to understand that the maintenance of facilities is a continuous process. It doesn’t stop. It’s just that at this point in time we have a huge backlog of maintenance so there is need for us to place more emphasis on trying to catch up but even after that backlog is dealt with we need to put in place a mechanism to ensure that we don’t slide back to that situation.” As to the question of whether they are satisfied with the maintenance work that has been done to date, Molefhi says there is a continuous monitoring of the performance of contractors, particularly outsourced maintenance. He points to the example of the Ministry of Health which has hired a facility management company to look after its building assets and insists that as the final authority MIST continues to be on the watch to monitor the performance of such companies. As a parting shot on the issue of maintenance Mokotedi highlights that the media, and the public at large, must take into account that MIST is not necessarily doing maintenance for all government buildings. They are focusing on Central Government facilities only: “So as you write your stories there should be that balance where you don’t ascribe maintenance of everything to our ministry. We are mainly focusing on Central Government facilities.”

Government Buildings Audit MIST has previously experienced challenges due to the lack of a comprehensive database that shows all government buildings that require

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Deputy Permanent Secretary Judith Nwako does mention that MIST is in the process of compiling a database of building assets. It’s unsustainable to do a condition survey of the government’s building assets, she says, but it is vital to find out exactly how many buildings there are within the ministry’s care around the country. Mokotedi confirms that this exercise is currently on-going but highlights that MIST only develops these facilities and then hands them over to their owners at any given point so while some may argue that the ministry should have the numbers of building assets readily available, it has to be understood that MIST deals with so many projects that they don’t have any consolidated information. He goes on to mention that the responsibility of keeping information on all government facilities falls on the government estate manager in the name of Ministry of Lands and Housing. “Yes, it is perhaps our responsibility to monitor their status but in terms of how many buildings government has and their locations that really should be the role of the estate manager,” says Mokotedi. “Unfortunately they don’t have comprehensive information of this kind so we are forced to do what we can to collect this information ourselves.”

Legislation In recent years the ministry has also accelerated the process of putting in place legislation to regulate the construction industry. The regulated environment for Engineers will be in effect from April this year and Molefhi says they want the implementation of both Acts for the registration of Quantity Surveyors and Architects to become

effective by August this year. As for the bill on an overall body to regulate the construction industry Molefhi says the dialogue between MIST and the private sector is still on-going so they are yet to submit the draft bill to the Attorney General’s Chambers. “We have planned that before the end of this financial year we want to take it through the whole process,” says Mokotedi. “I think what is important to understand here is that because these are self-regulations we have taken the route where the onus is on the industry to actually come up with the layman’s draft so that whatever they think should be the playing field within the sector will be reflected in the draft that they have created themselves. Once they’re done we’ll review it and then submit it to the AG’s Chambers. That’s what this idea of self-regulation is about because once it is done industry will not be able to turn around and say government has said this and that but we don’t agree with it.”

DBES Transformation The Department of Building and Engineering Services (DBES) has frequently been at the centre of controversies ranging from poor project implementation to allegations of corruption and collusion. Plans have been discussed to transform DBES and make the organisation fit for purpose. When questioned on how far these discussions have come to date Molefhi explains the decentralisation of minor maintenance functions to the ministries has had a profound impact on DBES. The decentralisation has meant that certain activities are no longer being done by DBES and the department has had to offload or even second some of its officers to other ministries to assist them. He goes on to mention that discussions within government concerning the establishment of a project implementation outfit which will ensure that projects are properly implemented and monitored are still on-going. Molefhi adds there is also a broader discussion about the re-organisation of general functions of government and that would also impact on what the final outfit would be, in terms of the reorientation of DBES work but the structure of the organisation remains as is for now. The next obvious question then becomes, would the project implementation agency that’s being discussed be separate from DBES? “It may subsume what is currently DBES but like I said we are still looking at that model,” says Molefhi. “We have made proposals to government and until those proposals are approved I’d be reluctant to divulge the extent of the orientation we would want to give to the project implementation capacity of this ministry.”

consumer Education P5

BOIDUS FOCUS MARCH 2015

PART

Essay 2

PRACTICAL ADVICE GUIDE

March 2015

Buying a HouseUseful Tips to Know

You are about to make one of the most important acquisitions of your life. Here are some useful tips to keep in mind before you commit to that ultimate investment.

OBTAIN A PRE-APPROVAL Getting a pre-approval from Botswana Building Society (BBS) will put you in a better position to make a serious offer after identifying a house of your choice. The pre-approval given by BBS is usually based on your income, debt and credit history. BBS normally offers ‘conditional’ pre-approval depending on the size of the loan you want and your credit worthiness. This approval indicates that you are eligible to apply for a home loan up to a certain limit. Remember this preapproval is often non-committal, so neither you , nor BBS are committed to a loan contract.

Pre-approval is useful for showing the seller/agent that you are serious about making an offer and streamlines the process of finalising your finance before making an offer. This reduces the chance of delays in the process of making an offer and you being ‘gazumped’, that is, When you have a verbal agreement with an agent or seller to buy a property at an agreed price but the property is sold to another buyer, usually for a higher amount. The agent is legally obliged to pass on to the seller any further offers received for the property up until the exchange of contracts. FIND AN AGENT Once you have your approval you know exactly how much BBS can extend to you in terms of a mortgage. The next step will be for you to identify a Real Estate Agent to assist you with finding a home within your budget. You have to certify that the agent is a professional and a reputable one before you start doing business with them. To do this you can contact the Real Estate Institute of Botswana OR the Real Estate Advisory Council to check if the agent is registered with them. START LOOKING AT HOMES The Agent will furnish you with a list of houses that they have for sale and will take you around to choose the one you like. It is very important to choose a house in a good location as the real estate mantra of “Location, location, location” would reemphasise. This basically means that identical houses can increase or decrease in value because of location. A house situated in a stable neighbourhood with easy access to local amenities such as schools, hospitals, public transportation access points and shopping malls would be a prime spot. INSPECT THE HOME This is one step that should never be missed. It comes

at a cost but it is worthwhile. A home is a lifetime asset and the buyer should make sure that the house is structurally sound before he pays the seller. A pre–purchase property inspection report is a written account of the condition of a property. It will tell you about any significant building defects or problems such as movement in the walls (cracking), safety hazards, leaking roof and the soundness of the whole structure. It is usually carried out before you exchange sale contracts so you can identify any problems with the property which, if left unchecked, could prove costly to repair. NEGOTIATE OFFER When buying a home, you don’t have to pay the asking price. Negotiation should be part of the process, especially for houses that will need more work to be made habitable. BBS usually finances a certain percentage of the Open Market Value of the property so it is vital that you negotiate the selling price to be within the loan to value advanced by BBS to avoid paying a higher down payment. Remember, there will be other incidental expenses to be incurred such as transfer duty, bond registration, handling fees and others before the property is finally transferred to you. AGREEMENT ON SALE It is critical that once you have agreed on the terms of buying the home from the seller that you put it down in writing. You will need to identify an attorney who will draft a sale agreement with all the agreed conditions of the sale. This agreement will be signed by both parties to show their commitment. APPLYING FOR A MORTGAGE When you are ready to buy a home, the first thing to look out for is to ensure your credit history is clean. BBS like other lenders, usually checks with local credit bureaus to certify your credit worthiness. BBS offers different interest rates and different features and services with their loans. VALUATION Lastly, the property has to be valued to authenticate its worth. If you have selected a property to purchase and you are finalising your finance, BBS will conduct a valuation of the home and land to assess the viability of your mortgage and the asking price. Paying too much for a property can put your equity and BBS’s equity at risk. If there is a large difference between the asking price and the lender valuation, your finance could fall through. This is why it is crucial that you do your research on the property and look at similar recent sales in the area (comparables). If the asking price seems unreasonably higher than recent sales of similar properties you may have difficulty obtaining finance for that purchase price.

BBS has Sales Consultants who are well informed, trained and always ready to assist you. You may reach them at 3971396 or visit any of our branches country wide for assistance.

BOIDUS FEATURE P6

BOIDUS FOCUS MARCH 2015

Barclays moves with the times with innovative CBD Headquarters By Kibo Ngowi

Continued from the FRONT PAGE Barclays Bank of Botswana has officially relocated to their new headquarters in the Gaborone CBD boasting five stories, two levels of basement parking and 4500sqm of floor space for seating. The building is located at the Prime Plaza office park and is being occupied on a lease from PrimeTime Construction on the building took 10 months to complete and it was handed over on schedule. Head of Corporate Real Estate Solutions Mrs. Oduetse Tebogo explains that Barclays made the decision to relocate to a new headquarters for a number of reasons. The need for larger premises as the old building, occupied since 1994, could no longer support the staff and in-turn the business, was paramount. Secondly moving to the CBD was seen as an opportunity at a fresh start for the organisation. “The Main Mall was the first commercial hub of Gaborone and Barclays Bank of Botswana was one of the first private organisations to invest in the area,” explains Tebogo. “Now the Gaborone commercial hub has moved to the new CBD and we have moved along with the times.” The bank also wanted to consolidate its real estate portfolio. The consolidation has several benefits including optimal use of real estate as well as moving mutually complementary depart-

ments close to each other for convenience and efficiency of support. The entire ground floor is made of meeting rooms of varying capacity from four to up to 20 or more seats, which are booked in advance through a computerised system. This floor also contains a wellness centre coordinated by a fulltime Wellness Manager and plans are in place to have visiting doctor’s services. This facility is open to any staff members who experience health related issues during working hours or require counselling; it is also used for routine vital science services. As you enter the rest of the floors, you see an open plan seating arrangement along the sides and in the centre there’s a pause area, a cafeteria-like set up with tables and chairs, coffee machines, vending machines, and recycle bins. In the corner there’s a collaboration space, a comfortable sofa arrangement where staff members can break off to have small informal discussions. The values of the company (respect, integrity, service, excellence and stewardship) are displayed on each floor as a plaque on the wall and also, more interestingly, as colourful murals that follow the theme colour (each floor has a theme colour) and put a creative twist to whatever value is being displayed. In addition to the pause arContinues Page 7

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BOIDUS FOCUS MARCH 2015

Barclays moves with the times with

innovative CBD Headquarters By Kibo Ngowi

Continued from Page 6 eas there’s a full-fledged staff cafeteria complete with balcony seating. There are a total of 280 parking bays for both staff and clients. There are 56 parking bays on the surface accessible to customers while the two-level basement is reserved for Barclays’ staff members. The building is currently occupied by 350 Barclays’ staff members but has a capacity of 402. The extra space has been left in order to accommodate Barclays’ staff members who visit the HQ for short-term projects. According to Tebogo there were five main factors they considered in the design of the building. First was to ensure environmental sustainability and examples of this evident within the building include the recycle bins on every floor which sort garbage between paper, tins, glass and others; the motion sensitive lights which ensure lights never stay on in unoccupied rooms for long; and tanks for harvesting rain water which is then used for watering plants and other activities. Second was to make the building a comfortable and supportive environment for the people that occupy it. Tebogo cites the increase of parking bays from roughly 100 at the previous building to more than 200 now; the wellness centre for staff members; and the office sections, such as the pause areas, collaboration spaces and cafeteria, created with staff comfort in mind. Third was to ensure the building’s design would enhance channels of communication within the

bank. Tebogo highlights this emphasis on communication as the reason that the ground floor suites are all meeting rooms; collaboration desks and arrival hubs are included in all floors; and a PA system has been installed for spot announcements. “The open plan nature of the building is meant to support access and ease of communication between colleagues,” says Tebogo. It was also important to the bank for real estate to add value to the company and it is through this real estate acquisition that Barclays was able to consolidate many of its supporting divisions into a single office building. All of the space is used as efficiently as possible such that Senior Executives sit in an open plan arrangement along with their teams. Finally, the building has an emphasis on leveraging technology to enhance the performance of all staff members. In addition to wi-fi internet access throughout the building, there are VOIP phones that allow users to search for Barclays’ staff members by name, a system which is currently only available in the HQ building but which the bank plans to roll out to all Barclays offices in future. These phones also have a missed calls, voice recording, dialled numbers and internal directory functionality. There’s a ‘fax to email’ system to cut down on printing; and a follow me printing system which allows any staff member to print at any printer in the building as long as they punch in their personal code, which also makes each employee personally accountable for all the paper they print.

GUEST COLUMNIST P8

BOIDUS FOCUS MARCH 2015

The Real Estate Advantage:

Why Gamble When You Can Invest By Sethebe Manake

From the surface the process is basically the same: you have two or more propositions before you and they all have an element of risk. Everyone knows that the higher the risk the higher the returns so it should be the same in real estate. Shouldn’t it? There is a phrase that has recently been ringing in my head that says “In good times even a fool makes a fortune” or some version of that statement. It has brought me to wonder about our current property market and the woes of many who invested or gambled during the good times. Though I cannot remember for the life of me who said it or even where I read it, the statement truly resonates with the fundamentals of the real estate market. For the advocates of real estate the sustainability and the longevity of real estate as an investment in comparison to other investments is always the best. The phrases “you cannot go wrong with real estate” and “property values always raise” have been thrown around everywhere and sometimes misinterpreted. Sometimes you can go wrong with property such as when you acquired property at a cost that the income can never recover or when you develop in a place that general developments are not moving towards. Real Estate as an investment class has by far the longest life span. So yes in the perspective of its life span and its performance in the long term, these statements are true. But when one looks at these statements in the short term they prove otherwise. As such, over certain periods of time the difference between the investor and the gambler is defined. Botswana, and more specifically Gaborone, is going through that time. A gambler in this case would be one that has acquired or developed property with no strategic plan or recognition of the natural economic cycle. One who has acted out of gut and feeling or personally observed trends without engagement with specialists or professionals in that activity, be it development or acquisition. One who did not take into cognisance the issues of demand and supply for the sector they acted in or even the achievable rental levels and other economic factors surrounding the performance of the real estate market. One who reached maximum affordability levels without recognition of possible changes in financing regimes for the future. The investor is the one who engaged a real estate specialist on their development, who assessed the realities of household income when determining the rentals for their multi-residential development. One who carried out market research to determine the viability of their retail centre, observing consumer spending trends and household expenditure indicators. It is quite concerning that many local property owners have fallen into the former category. In the past few years many individuals were assessing the affordability of a property on their ability to secure a mortgage loan, without any assessment of whether that specific property would be able to fetch income that would sufficiently cover

the loan repayments, together with the incidental expenses of owning a property. This is fairly evident in residential housing. The fear of losing out on a “deal” and reinforcement of the scarcity mentality towards real estate in Botswana has pushed many into accepting purchase prices that are way beyond the real investment value of the specific property parcel. This has pushed residential real estate prices beyond many peoples reach and has made residential investment out of reach for the ordinary man. Now the question remains: how do we ensure that we are able to sustain our property past the

visible cycle slump we find ourselves in? The truth is that up to and until we recognise that an investment in real estate or in any other class is only an investment if it returns a cash-flow that is higher than the required principal investment; and that the affordability of a loan should not at all be a determinant of the purchase price but rather a tool to secure the investment; we will continue to cry foul over real estate market activities. What we have been doing is gambling. The perception that a P 15000 mortgage is fine on a rental stream of P 4500, simply because our other income streams can make up for the loss presented by the property, is fundamentally wrong.

An investment is only an investment based on its own merit and no other factor. For us to recover, let this be a learning curve. If you believe the profile of the gambler resonates more with how you have been handling real estate than the investor then it is time to change your perspective. It is time to review your activities and restructure what is in your basket. The major difference between gambling and investing is that investment is deliberate and informed. The risk is assessed and mitigated. With gambling, all you can do is cross your fingers and hope for the best. It is time to stop gambling and start investing. Be informed. Be deliberate.

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ADVERTISING P9

BOIDUS FOCUS MARCH 2015

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boidus feature P10

BOIDUS FOCUS MARCH 2015

THE CONCEPT OF SAFE BY DESIGN

Can a good public space influence social behavior and make a city more secure?

In 1969, Philip Zimbardo, professor at the University of Stanford, performed a social psychological experiment. He placed an unlicensed car with a lifted hood in a neglected street in The Bronx, New York, and another similar car in a wealthy neighborhood of Palo Alto, California. The car in The Bronx was attacked in less than ten minutes, its apparent state of abandonment enabling the looting. The car in Palo Alto, however, remained untouched for more than a week. Zimbardo then took his experiment one step further and broke a window of the car in Palo Alto. Almost immediately, passersby began to take things out of the car and within a few hours, the car had been completely dismantled. In both cases, many of the looters did not appear to be dangerous people. This experiment led Harvard Professors George Kelling and James Wilson to develop the Broken Windows Theory in 1982: “If a broken window is left without repair, people will come to the conclusion that no one cares about it and that there is no one watching it. Then more windows will be broken and the lack of control will spread from the buildings to the streets, sending a signal that anything goes and that there is no authority.” The idea is simple, but powerful: bad habits spread quickly, but good ones, with strength and continuity, can displace the bad. How many things decline because of our indifference to the very first signs that something isn’t right? How many “broken windows” do we see each day? It’s all about marking the limits and nullifying bad practices and habits with situational and preventative strategies that engage, not only the authorities, but also the community in resolving problems through active participation. Some of the most successful cities dealing with this situation have escaped their spiraling deterioration with proactive planning of high quality design, a culture of urban hy-

giene and constant maintenance. In the book “Death and Life of Great American Cities” (1962) Jane Jacobs, rescues the rich preexistences of multifunctional cities, compact and dense where the street, the neighborhood and the community are vital to the urban culture. “To maintain the security of the city is the principal job of the streets and sidewalks.” For her, a secure street is one that proposes a clear delimitation between public and private space, with people and constant movement, as well as small blocks that generate numerous corners and intersections, where the buildings look to the curb so that many eyes keep watch over it. The future of humanity and of the planet depends on having better cities. We know that pulling back to private space and fleeing to unsustainable urban peripheries is not the solution and only aggravates the problem. Our “quality of life” cannot depend on ghettos guarded by walls, alarms and private armies. Reducing insecurity and fear is as much of a priority as making these neglected areas more efficient, integrated and creative. We should begin to look at public space as the heart of modern life; its design, its use, its management and its new functions are all vital. We should rethink the street, the plaza and the park, the woodland and the urban landscape and all that which permits us to construct an identity and to experience the encounter, the interchange and the difference. “A site only becomes a place when we appropriate it culturally,” says Heidegger. Recent investigations demonstrate that these interactions between urban design, community and public space are effective complements to a policy of consistent security. Bill Hiller, Professor at the University of London in his Laboratory of Spatial Syntax, investigates and maps flows between crime, place and population.

Planning Secure, Safe Neighborhoods Gaorone City C ouncil Principal Planner

Lentswe Lesenyegile

LL: It’s actually in our development control code to build attaching buildings because they eliminate the spaces between houses where criminals can hide. The new code states that houses should be articulated no more than 5m from the boundary wall. 5m used to be the minimum but we want there to be a clear line of houses that you can see from the street as this makes them more visible and thus less vulnerable to break ins so 5m is now the maximum.

Boidus Focus met with Gaborone City Council Physical Planner Mr. Lentswe Lesenyegile to give us his perspective on aspects that can be embedded in the design process to improve the safety of neighborhoods and homesteads in Botswana.

BF: What are some of the key components that

are built into urban areas right from the planning stage specifically to make them safe from crime?

LL: C In this country we don’t have a policy that

deals specifically with crime prevention in design. We assume that people staying close together naturally fights crime because our planning is taken from the kgotla at the centre of the settlement concept where a community is formed and people help each other; this happens in SHHA areas but it doesn’t often happen in higher income areas. We favour the pavilion design because we believe when you have a neighbourhood designed in a such way that the houses surround a conjoined space inside where there is quite a lot of activity it makes the area more secure. It also helps for the streets around the compound to be clear which increases visibility and thus reduces crime.

Putting up walls actually decreases the security of a compound because your neighbourhood cannot see what’s happening inside your compound, even when there is a thief inside your house.

BF: In recent development plans for Gaborone, greater emphasis has been put on densification. Does densification have any bearing on the safety of urban areas, especially in comparison to the sprawling layout adopted for Gaborone in previous plans? LL: We believe the issue of intensification will naturally help reduce crime because more people stay closer together and are thus more likely to question strangers who come to their neighbours’ houses. Many people feel that flats are actually safer than single residential plots for the same reasons. In high income areas people have no sense of community spirit as they don’t know each other and this affects their safety. BF: As the authority responsible for building control and planning applications, what are some of the key components of building design or neighbourhood design that you would like to see designers incorporate into their plans in order to improve safety and security in neighbourhoods?

Originally the regulation for the height of walls was 1.5m but people complained so we increased it to 1.8m on the condition that two thirds of the wall is perforated. People don’t understand that making their homes less visible from the street actually makes them less secure.

BF: There was previously a mention of a programme called ‘adopt a green space’ which was aimed at encouraging people to take ownership of green spaces in their areas and provide care for them. How far are the plans to implement this programme? LL:

It’s actually an initiative, not a programme, that is implemented and already many organisations and companies have adopted it.

The green space in front of Airport Junction Mall has been adopted by the mall owners; Ba-Isago University and MVA have also done that in the spaces in front of their premises. If we had money we would develop the parks but we encourage companies to adopt green spaces, take care of them and make them places that people want to visit. The community is also encouraged to adopt the green spaces as in residential areas we encourage people to do something with it.

Developers are allowed to develop an open space within the community for public use instead of having a space within their plots.

BF: Gaborone residential areas, especially those in the outskirts, have had to endure sustained illegal dumping which poses great health risks. To date, Block 5, Kgale View and Phakalane have all been victims of this hazard. What is GCC doing to curb the spread of illegal dumping? LL:

This is a serious problem, developers are often irresponsible because they’ve been shown areas where they can dump things but they actually take the easiest route. There is a dumping route not far from Sir Seretse Khama International Airport where we have shown them to dump but they don’t. We have Anti-litter operations through which officers try to identify people littering and fine them. We also have Green Scorpions that perform similar monitoring and charging. There is public awareness that’s been done but despite this the problem is growing. People in the community should record the license plate of trucks dumping waste and report them to the police.

boidus feature P11

BOIDUS FOCUS MARCH 2015

How can Communities The Role of the Police in Protect Themselves Urban Neighbourhoods Fight Crime in Botswana Board Member

Botswana Police Service Public Relations Officer

Mr. Norberto Alvarez Neighborhood Watch is one of the oldest and most effective crime prevention programs in the country, bringing citizens together with law enforcement to deter crime and make communities safer. Boidus Focus spoke with Fight Crime in Botswana Board Member Mr. Norberto Alvarez to learn more about what makes the neighbourhood watch initiatives effective.

BF: What is the role of a good neighbourhood watch group? NA: Neighborhood Watch is a crime prevention program enlisting the active participation of residents living in the same area in cooperation with the Local Police to reduce the incidence and fear of crime in their communities. Neighborhood Watch is generally understood to be a community based activity supported by local police that is directed towards crime prevention. It involves residents becoming more responsive to the risk of crime and taking action to protect their own and neighbors’ property. Such actions may include marking properties, reporting suspicious activities and improving home security, which reduce the opportunity for crime and increase the risk of detention. Neighborhood Watch programs are the most effective means available for keeping crime out of neighbourhoods. It relies on the best crime fighting tool ever invented – “A good neighbor.” BF: In your work with key stakeholders, who are the most useful and relevant players in improving safety and security in neighbourhoods?

Christopher Mbulawa

in the Main Mall and the Gaborone CBD are regarded as less safe at night. Whose responsibility is it to make sure that these areas are kept safe for public use after working hours?

NA:

No one organization or even one sector can make significant changes without the help and cooperation of the other sectors. Often multisector collaboration occurs when organizations or sectors have tried to solve problems by themselves, and have failed. For effective crime prevention to be achieved in most neighbourhoods, it requires simultaneous interventions of many local Institutions, the interdependency of Communities, Families, Schools, Traditional Leaders, Religious Leaders, Councils, NGO’s, Prisons, Police and Criminal justice System all working together, identifying the root causes of crime and formulating strategies to making Botswana safe and secure.

BF:

Security companies are usually the last resort for many residents who want to improve their security. Do you think security companies improve or worsen the safety and security of neighbourhoods?

NA: Private security services play an important

role to the broader efforts of maintaining security at all levels of our country. Private security companies do safeguard and protect private interests. However, the mushrooming of security companies in the industry has created many challenges; they need to ensure that particular attention is paid to the areas of recruitment, screening and compliance with laid down rules and regulations set down by SAB (Security Association of Botswana). Failure to meet the minimum requirements would lead to loss of confidence in the industry, and compromise their credibility and integrity.

Boidus Focus spoke to Botswana Police Service Public Relations Officer Christopher Mbulawa to find out what the police are doing to make our communities safer.

BF:

What role do the police play in making neighbourhoods safer from crime? Please share your strategies geared at helping to make neighbourhoods less vulnerable to crime.

CM: We in the BPS have always advocated for the involvement of the public in crime prevention as it is a known fact that crime can never be won from the law enforcement front without the active participation of communities. In our endeavor to realize this noble cause, we have developed strategies such as Neighbourhood Watch Schemes, Cluster Policing and Police Volunteers, amongst other things. BF: Public spaces and areas such as those found

PRICKLY BEAUTY – Gardening for home safety Make any burglar think twice about choosing your home as a target: Make any thief think twice about choosing your home as a target with these useful gardening tips for a burglar-proof home. Security Plants – Plant roses or any other type of thorny bush around your doors and windows. You can also plant a thorny creeper or hedge by boundary walls and entrances. Placing these plants in strategic locations around your yard will give any wouldbe robbers a prickly surprise and the bonus is your yard will smell of fresh roses. Shrubbery, Trees, and Hedges – There’s a wide variety of security plant

life available for your home. These are thorny and grow fast, and some of them produce seasonal fruit. Many of them also require minimal care and water which is good for our dry climate. Remember burglars look for a property with thick shrubbery or tall hedges to conceal themselves as they spy on your home so trimming down your hedges is a good security measure if these surround your property. Gravel – This can be a great way to boost up the security to your lawn or yard as burglars like to go undetected and having gravel around your prop-

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erty can make you aware of their presence quickly. If you were a burglar, would you want your footsteps being heard by the homeowner or neighbor? It has the added advantage of not requiring water to maintain. Remember an Un-Mowed Lawn gives the impression that the homeowner is away on a trip and sends an open invitation to burglars. Come and see what thorny solutions we have to help you boost your home security and check out our Outdoor Lighting options as well.

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CM: Botswana Police Service is legally mandated to ensure safety and security of people and their property. Having said this, I need to underscore that the safety and security of people and their property starts with individuals. We pledge in our mission statement that we will provide a professional policing service, in partnership with the community. Everybody has a responsibility and everybody should do their part to ensure public safety and security. BF: In the past there were police visible on the streets. These have significantly reduced and instead there are now police on bicycles who are more often seen stopping traffic rather than patrolling neighbourhoods. How do you reconcile this with your response above?

CM: Police visibility still remains our top prior-

ity. Every morning and in fact during peak hours, our officers are visible at road intersections, traffic lights and other places in order not just to regulate traffic flow but to prevent crime. This is in addition to a host of our officers patrolling the streets on foot, bicycles, cars and even up in the skies. All our officers have a legal mandate to enforce all written laws including the Road Traffic Act and so those on bicycles can also stop and search motor vehicles. As a matter of fact, some of the stolen goods are transported with motor vehicles.

home improvement P12

BOIDUS FOCUS MARCH 2015

DIY Projects -How to Build Your Own Stairs in 3 Easy Steps

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From a technical standpoint, there’s nothing particularly difficult about building stairs for a deck, porch or shed. Anyone with basic carpentry skills can make the necessary cuts and assemble the parts. And yet, stair building is arguably the most challenging task do-it-yourselfers will ever attempt. [Source: popularmechanics.com] Basic Stair Anatomy

There are three main components in a typical staircase: stringers, treads and risers. Stringers, typically cut from 2 x 12s, are the sloped boards that support the other components and carry the weight of people walking on the stairs. They’re typically spaced 16 in. on center. When determining the staircase width, remember that wider is better.

Treads form the top surface of each step, and risers are installed directly under the front lip of each tread. Some stairs don’t have risers, but that’s a mistake, according to many builders. “Risers protect the exposed endgrain of the notched stringers from the weather,” explains award-winning deck builder Scott Padgett, of Idyllwild, Calif. “Without risers, stringers will crack or split much sooner.”

Step 1: Calculating Rise and Run

The first step in building stairs for a deck is finding the total rise or overall vertical height the stairs have to cover. Lay a straight board on top of the deck, extend it from the edge, then measure down to the landing location. Let’s say the total rise is 57 in. The next job is to find the rise of each step. Divide 57 by 7 in. (the typical rise per step) to get 8.14. Round down to get the steps: eight. To then determine the actual rise, divide the 57 in. by the eight steps to get 7 1/8 in. per step. You can use that information to find the total run of the staircase--or how much horizontal distance it will cover as it climbs. Multiply the number of steps by the run, or horizontal depth, of each step. The optimum run of each step is no less than 10 in., which is enough space to accept two 2 x 6 treads. In our example, the staircase has eight steps, so the total run is 80 in.

There is one wrinkle in the math, however: If you are working with a tall deck, it’s a good idea to break up the staircase with intermediate landings.

Step 2: Cutting Stringers

Before laying out the steps on a 2 x 12, decide how the stringers will join the deck. They’re either attached directly to the rim joist so the top step is flush with the deck top, or to the framing under the deck, which is the way we did it (see drawing on previous page). When mounted under the deck, the stringers are either attached to the joists or to blocking placed between joists, and the stringer ends are cut long to reach the framing. Mark the tread notches using a framing square fitted with stair gauges. These small brass fixtures clamp onto the square, providing an accurate way to mark several identical notches. Clamp one stair gauge on the square’s tongue

directly at the rise dimension. Attach the other gauge to the body of the square at the run dimension. Then, lay the square on the 2 x 12 with the gauges pressed against the board’s edge and mark the tread and riser. Slide the square down, align it with the previously drawn notch, and add the next one.

step is level, and use a block plane to shave down high spots.

Next, trim the bottom of the stringer an amount equal to the tread thickness. For example, if you’re installing 2 x 6 treads, cut 1 1/2 in. from the bottom of the stringer. Use the first stringer as a template to mark the remaining stringers.

After installing the risers, fasten the treads with screws. Leave a 1/8- to 1/4-in. space between the treads. Continue installing treads, working your way up the staircase. The 4 x 4 posts used to support the stair rail are typically bolted to the stringers before installing the treads. However, we completed the stairs first, and then attached the posts and built the handrail that codes usually require.

Cut the notches using a circular saw, being careful not to go beyond the lines. Finish the cuts with a jigsaw or a handsaw.

We screwed each stringer to the deck-frame blocking, which was spaced 16 in. on center. With the stringers in place, check that each

Step 3: Installing Treads and Risers

Cut the risers to length and fasten them to the stringers with 2 1/2-in. trim-head decking screws. Note that we cut the risers and treads to overhang the outer stringer by 1 1/4 in. Later, a 1 x 12 cedar trim board will be nailed to the stringer, giving the staircase a more finished look. This detail isn’t always necessary.

professional practice P13

BOIDUS FOCUS MARCH 2015

Protection of Retention Money

30(4A)(a) (which has been specifically earmarked as a clause that could be deleted), it states: “The amounts retained by virtue of sub-clause 31 of this Condition shall be retained by the Employer, whose interest therein shall be fiduciary as trustee for the Contractor (but without obligation to invest) …”

by Euan Massey and Natalie Reyneke We have, in previous articles, explained how the JBCC 2014 Edition attempts to make it “easier” for contractors to take employers through the dispute resolution process, to facilitate speedy resolution of disputes. The adjudication process, for example, allows the project to continue with minimum interruption, and enables the adjudicator to reach a speedy decision on who should hold the money in the meantime, so that cash flows and the works can continue. Apart from the issue of receiving prompt payment of interim payment certificates, another challenge facing main and sub-contractors, including those in Botswana, is accessing their retention monies where it has been withheld in cash and the employer company is liquidated. When winding up has commenced (either by the court or voluntarily by resolution of the members) the company stops trading and the powers of the directors are terminated subject to the appointment of a liquidator. The liquidator is responsible for, inter alia, gathering the assets of the company and paying off creditors.

There is an alternative to liquidation available in Botswana known as judicial management. The company is placed under the control of a judicial manager, by the court, with the object of avoiding liquidation, where there is a prospect that by proper management the company will overcome its present financial difficulties. However, it should be noted that the court has the discretion to direct that while the judicial management order is in force, all actions and the execution of all writs, summonses and other processes against the company be stayed and not be continued without leave of the court.

In English case law, more specifically, Rayack Construction Ltd v Lampeter Meat Co Ltd (1979), the judge held that the effect of a provision such as the one above was to impose on the Employer an implied obligation to set up the retention in a separate trust fund in favour of the Contractor. Until the Employer sets up such a trust fund, there is no trust because the mixing of the retention with other monies of the Employer contravenes the principal of certainty of subject matter. The effect of placing the retention into a trust fund is that the liquidators, upon the winding up of a company, will hold the retention for the benefit of the Contractor. The creditors cannot touch the retention monies.

In Botswana there is no legislated protection to a main or sub-contractor in a construction contract, if the employer company is liquidated, because their claim is viewed as that of a concurrent creditor. In Botswana the two pieces of legislation that are intimately involved in the winding up of a company and the distribution of the company’s assets are the Companies Act [Cap 42:01] and the Insolvency Act [Cap 42:02].

The concept of a “trust account” for retention monies is not new. The 1981 - 1988 edition without quantities ‘old white form contract’ for building works made provision for a trust account in the name of both parties and the interest that accumulated on the account was shared equally between both parties. The old white form contract was replaced by the JBCC series, which no longer has a clause which

This has, however, been recognized in the local BIDP standard form contract where, at clause

deals with the placement of retention in trust. It has proven difficult to obtain comment from the JBCC drafting committee as to why this trust account provision was removed from the JBCC series, but it has been suggested that the introduction of guarantees negated the need for trust accounts. The need for the protection of retention monies has recently been recognised in international jurisdictions such as New South Wales, a state on the east coast of Australia. They are pushing for the draft Building and Construction Industry Security of Payment Amendment Bill, 2013 (the “Bill”) to be legislated. Section 12A of the Bill calls for the payment of all retention monies into a trust account held by an independent third party or institution. Legislation like this would make considerable inroads in protecting retention money for the intended recipient. Botswana may be some time away from being in a position to legislate the holding of retention monies in a trust account. Although the BIDP contract provides for the employer to be fiduciary as trustee for the contractor with respect to retention, contractors should insist that any retention monies be placed in a separate bank account with the contractor being named as beneficiary. If contractors in Botswana use the JBCC suite of documents – beware – this clause does not exist and a prudent contractor who is not in a position to provide a retention guarantee in lieu of the employer withholding cash retentions may consider inserting a clause in the contract conditions stipulating that retention monies are held in a trust account by an independent third party.

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Boidus Focus Newspaper, now in its 38th print, is the leading platform for Botswana’s Built Environment. Stay informed and engaged and with more of Boidus Media’s quality publication. OIDUS FOCUS Registered at GPO as a Newspaper | P8.00 (Including VAT)

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OIDUS FOCUS Registered at GPO as a Newspaper | Volume 3, Issue #8

BOTSWANA’S BUILT ENVIRONMENT NEWSPAPER

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Botswana’s Architecture Design and Urban Landscape Newspaper | D E C EM B E R 2 0 1 3 www.boidus.co.bw

NEWS | page 02

SUSTAINABILITY | page 04

Icowork officially opens; a new concept for workspace in Botswana

Government to Promote Introduction of Residential Development into the CBD

CLASSIFIEDS | page 11

PROF. PRACTICE | pages 18

Profile: Botswana’s Leading Building Material Suppliers

Defective Materials and Workmanship in Construction ProjBOIDUS FEATURE > ects - How to protect yourself?

| Volume 4, Issue 8 | SEPTEMBER 2014

How F/town City Can Exploit PPPs for Infrastructure Development

Lifestylenoted: Man Cave Design Therapy

2013 End of Year Review - Botswana Property and Construction Industry

BOIDUS EXCLUSIVE >

China or Local - Where to buy your building materials

FNB Botswana takes the lead and brings together industry stakeholders to a desktop discussion to explore opportunities of unlocking the afford-

Imbalances are appearing, markets are distorted

Infrastructure Development Opportunities in the Construction Industry Still Unexplored

Plans are advanced for the setting up of an Industry Construction Regulator spearheaded by BOCCIM, MIST and Local Professionals Associations. The long awaited Botswana Construction Industry Act (BICA) will user amongst other things: ‘Registration and regulation of all Contractors operating in Botswana’s Construction Industry’

Botswana’s Institutional Investors Called to Invest Capital in Local Infrastructure Development • Infrastructure in Road Networks • Energy - Coal power plants Alternative energy systems • Water - Dredging Existing Damns • Housing - Affordable housing infrastructure and research >>> CONTINUED PAGE 08

FEATURE INSIDE

BOTSWANA’S BUILT ENVIRONMENT NEWSPAPER

Fairgrounds Corporate Profile CORPORATE PROFILE Botswana’s Only Financial Hub Office Park National Exhibition Centre Finance Education Centres Urban Lifestyle

BOIDUS EXCLUSIVE > 1 Gaborone Fairgrounds Office Park Corporate Profile

www.boidus.co.bw |

& Shopping Botswana’s Commercial Only Financial Hub Tourist & OutdoorOffice Destinations Park Hotel & Accomodation National Exhibition Centre Finance Education Centres Urban Lifestyle Commercial & Shopping Tourist & Outdoor Destinations Hotel & Accomodation

The Real Estate AdvantageAfrican Time

| Volume 4, Issue 10 |NOVEMBER 2014

API Summit Special Feature

Lifestylenoted: Save Money, Save the Planet, Design Smart

by Kibo Ngowi

able housing market which remains unexplored. Boidus Media participated in the event as a facilitator. >>> CONTINUED PAGE 04

glass supplier in Botswana shares his insight on the country’s glass market and its prospects for the future. CONTINUED PAGES 04, 17

The past year has been an interesting one for the building and construction industry with plenty of headline grabbing stories to keep tongues wagging.

The Drive to Position Francistown as a Centre of Investment

The New Revised Development Control Code 2013 by Boidus Admin

Finally, the long awaited Development Control Code 2013 [DCC] has come into effect as of November 2013. In development terms this is a big leap in advancing the terms that guide every development in the country. The DCC is the guiding document that regulates, land use activity, planning and planning applications. It is a critical

In recent years Botswana has seen a growing trend of local consumers turning east for their building material needs to Chinese suppliers and this development has not been without controversy. Boidus Focus speaks to suppliers and regulators in an effort to find out what buyers need to keep in mind when choosing between local or Chinese materials.

element that has a binding effect on all development environments in all planning gazette areas. Boidus Focus will serialize and discuss the new Code in the next three issues to make it more accessible and appreciated by the building industry.

CONTINUED PAGES 03, 16

>>> CONTINUED PAGE 15

BOIDUS

Boidus PLATFORMS

PLATFORMS

OIDUS FOCUS

MEDIA EVENTS

Registered at GPO as a Newspaper | Volume 3, Issue #6

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OIDUS FOCUS Registered at GPO as a Newspaper | Volume 3, Issue #2

Botswana’s Architecture Design and Urban Landscape Newspaper | S E P T 2 0 1 3 NEWS | page 02

www.boidus.co.bw

EDITORIAL | page 05

Global Design Giant, AECOM Completes Takeover of DAVIS

Are Property Valuers influenced by Borrowers and Lenders?

Langdon Botswana’s Architecture Design and Urban Landscape Newspaper | J UBotswana NE 2013 NEWS | page 02

www.boidus.co.bw

EDITORIAL | page 04

Letlole Larona Breaks Ground at the Kromberg and Schubert Botswana (Pty) Plant

SUSTAINABILITY | page 06

Government to Promote IntroHow ready is Botswana for duction of Residential DevelopInevitable BOIDUS EXCLUSIVE the FEATURE > Change towards ment into the CBD Global Decarbonisation targets?

PROF PRACTICE | pages 16

FINANCING | page 18

It’s Time to Envision A Better Barclays Bond Switching Built Detroit. Are Architects Campaign: Boidus Speaks to Ready? BarclaysArchitecture Home Loans Manager Botswana’s design NEWS | page 02

EDUCATION | pages 15

www.boidus.co.bw

Guide to School Programmes: 2013 Built Environment Careers Guide

Botswana’s Property Outper-

BOIDUS EXCLUSIVE >

& Urban Landscape Newspaper | M A R C H 2 0 1 3

BUILDINGS | page 06

P8.00 (Including VAT)

A Luta Continua on the Land Question Airport Roof Gone with the Wind

The Idea of Eco Cities: Need for harmony between policy and green initiatives

HOUSING | page 16 Buy or Build a new Home: The Pros and Cons

P8.00 (Including VAT)

Event Feature: State of our Citiesforms Equity (DCI), Bonds CBD Executive Seminar Event(BBI) - IPD 2012

BOIDUS EXCLUSIVE FEATURE >

BOIDUS EXCLUSIVE >

Bringing together key CBD stakeholders such as landowners and developers to engage on issues that affect their developments and investment The IPD

by HK Mokwete

BDC FAIRSCAPE PRECINCT, The Realm of Splendor - Live, Work & Play With Breath taking Views Kazungula Bridge - The Gateway To African Mainland The final piece of the ‘trans-Kalahari’ corridor

Red East Construction: Award Winning Chinese Contractor

by Boidus Admin Underlying all of the engineering ingenuity, bridges play a critical role in bringing trade hubs, communities and other trade benefits to communities. In Kazungula, the Ferry, which used to play the mobile bridging element, might be seeing the last of its heroic days. Plagued with problems such as delays of up to days especially in rainy season, accidents and others, the bridging of

by Kibo Ngowi / H. Killion Mokwete Boidus Focus sat down with the Managing Director of Red East Construction, a Subsidiary of the Zhengtai Group Mr

company apart from its counterparts and defied the perception of poor construction workmanship as a uniquely

Zhu Dexiang to try and understand what has set this Chinese construction

Chinese problem. >>> CONTINUED PAGE 07

Birds-eye view

Government to Promote Introduction of Residential Development into the CBD

Extract Seminar Paper PresentationOthata by Jobe Ofetotse, DTRP Batsetswe: FinMark

Stan Garrun: Executive Director & Head of South Africa, IPD

Botswanafailings of the CBD concept SouthbutAfrica more Introduction challenging to come up with solutions Thank you to the organizers for inviting identified. important 17.9% where problems have been10.4% That is what we hope the seminar will concentrate upon.

2,850.2 Capital In organizing it, BOIDUS have directly (BWP million) All Property From responded to our concern that it is easy

>>> CONTINUED PAGES 08, 13, 18

FIND CREATIVE

to be critical and identify perceived

204,844

(ZARmillion) a DTRP standpoint, the forum 1BWP :PAGE 1.18ZAR >>> CONTINUED 04

TO COMMERCIAL

ANSWERS QUESTIONS. Renowned experts in branding, business and marketing.

Interactive session for learning and networks.

Dr Keith Jefferis: EConsult Botswana

by Boidus Admin

Total Return DTRP to contribute to this % 12 months and highly topical seminar.

A Successful CBD represents among other things; • A success CBD Image of the city and the country • Generation of the country’s prosperity • Successful partnership between the Government & PVT sector Dimitri Kokinos: Portfolio Structuring Manager (Stanlib)

Botswana’s Property Index for year in Africa region (South Africa) in col2012 released by IPD indicate a slight lating of a Property Index P500 by IPD, the (FOR BOTH DAYS) June 21-22 fall in total return but still returned a leading provider of worldwide critical University of Botswana healthy 17.9% The figures is a fall from business intelligence, including analast year’s return of 20.9%. Botswana lytical services, indices and market inP300 IDEAS EXPO BOTSWANA is an event designed to combine the best ofjoined creativity, business and technology recently the only other country formation, to the real estate industry. *PRICE PER DAY FOR INDIVIDUALS OR PAY in which participants are invited to give talks, do demonstrations, and show their work. P500 FOR BOTH DAYS. Exhibition with the latest innovation.

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IPD produces more than 120 indices, as well as almost 600 portfolio benchmarks, across 32 countries enabling real estate market transparency and performance comparisons. >>> CONTINUED PAGE 04

the mighty Chobe River’s 400m width will soon be an issue of the past. The new proposed bridge will not only connect communities on both side of the Chobe and Botswana and Zambia but also open a corridor of trade and goods services to the heart of Africa. The bridge will complete the missing part in the so called ‘trans-Kalahari’ corridor. >>> CONTINUED PAGE 07

Government & Private Sector Sorting Out Construction

MIST, BOCCIM & Industry Professional Task Force

Public Piazza

With stakes high in Botswana ofviews from across the City. Boidus reality in one area. ficeby market, was recently given exclusive tour of KiboBotswana Ngowi Development Corporation’s Fairscape Precinct is the construction site to experience The Iconic tower which has been set After to raise the bar what reports quality and hand this exciting project as it slowly the skylinesuch of asfirst more thanof four nu-emerging sionaloff Associations AAB, ABCON, office space attempts is by delivering an Abecomes reality. Fairgrounds is setting unmissable merous by international conBIDP, BIE, TBBA, and other stakeholders grade mixed use development which view of a gleaming honey comb sultants to formulate and implement are laying out the foundation to what will will see work, play and live become >>> CONTINUED PAGES 08, 13 lattice structure with unparalleled

regulatory standards for our ailing construction industry over the space of 20 years, the drive to put real action into

be Botswana’s CI Regulator. The all powerful body will have authority and overreaching powers over all that is construc-

solving the industry’s underlying problems be gaining momentum. A task

tion across both government and private construction activities.

force headed by MIST, through Deputy PSP, Ulf Sodderstrom, BOCCIM, Profes-

>>> CONTINUED PAGES 08,13

Disentangling the Web – A Look at Infrastructure Project Management

BOIDUS EXCLUSIVE >

FNB’s CBD HQ – Intelligent Corporate Architecture by Kibo Ngowi

Office of the President

The Relocation of the Office of The President Is it the Right Move Or Not? by HK Mokwete

The current debate in parliament over a budget allocation request of P195 million for the purposes of augmenting funds to either- acquire or build a new office block to house the Office of

FNBB ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSION - DECEMBER 2013 AFFORDABLE HOUSING MARKET OPPORTUNITIES

PRACTICE | pages 14, 18

P8.00 (Including VAT) BOIDUS EXCLUSIVE FEATURE >

Botswana Property Consultative Index 2012 Indicates “Public Piazza, Mixed Use Podium and Sky gardens coming to Gaborone” Decline in Total Returns by Kibo Ngowi & HK Mokwete

by Kibo Ngowi & HK Mokwete

Boidus (Pty) Ltd.

P. O. Box 50097, Gaborone Plot 2930, Ext. 10, Gaborone t +267 3182209 m +267 73805898 e mail@boidus.co.bw w www.boidus.co.bw

Boidus PLATFORMS

PUBLICATION

MEDIA

by Kibo Ngowi

Last month the City of Francistown hosted the Francistown Investment Forum as part of its bid to position Botswana’s ‘Capital of the North’ as the lead economic hub in Southern Africa by 2022. Boidus Focus presents highlights of this first of its kind

the President (OP) is missing the bigger picture of what should be debated when procuring the office space for the ‘Highest Office in the Land.’ >>> CONTINUED PAGE 04

BREAKFAST FORUM SERIES - SEPTEMBER 2013 BOTSWANA PROPERTY MARKET STATE OF OUR CITIES - MAY 2013 CBD EXECUTIVE SEMINAR STATE OF OUR CITIES - APRIL 2012 DESIGNER’S FORUM BREAKFAST SEMINAR SERIES - MARCH 2012 HOUSING AFFORDABILITY IN BOTSWANA

Some stories pointed to the shifting landscape of the country’s economy: Mining giant BCL changed its focus to the manufacture of steel; the country’s second largest city Francistown unveiled its ambitions to develop into an economic hub of the region; the billion Pula international access route conferenceKazungula and an insight from Econ- began construction; and the largBridge officially omist Othata 07]country, Game City, began a multiest Batsetswe shopping[see mallpage in the on the potential Francistown millionmodels Pula expansion in a bid to stay competitive in the can adopt to access funding for the country’s increasingly saturated commercial property market. important matter of infrastructure funding. Other stories highlighted that things don’t always turn out CONTINUED PAGE 18

as planned: Five plots were repossessed from the urban

precinct envisioned to become the economic centre of the Capital City, the new Gaborone CBD, and the founding Minister of Infrastructure, Science and Technology was forced out of office, in spite of leading one of the highest performing ministries, after failing to be re-elected. Reason for optimism came in the form of Botswana being recognized as the most efficient and transparent amongst emerging property markets worldwide and the construction industry making great strides in establishing a regulated environment. Boidus Focus presents a snapshot of the good, the bad and the ugly of the building and construction industry in 2014. CONTINUED ON PAGE 04

SOCIAL MEDIA

[

Professionals Information Seekers Students Organization Affiliations Visit us on our website:

]

Find us on:

| Volume 4, Issue 6 | JULY 2014

attained in the era of sustainability

framework for PPPs in Botswana

by Kibo Ngowi

Foreign Financing for Property Development

Realty Africa To Introduce New Real Estate Investment Model to the Country

The Good, The Bad & The Risky

by Kibo Ngowi Crowdfunding is a simple concept that is challenging traditional financing models and rising in popularity across the world. Through this model a project or company is financially supported by many individuals each contributing only a small percentage of the total funding required to get it off the ground.

Minister P. Maele

Ministry of Lands and Housing (MLH)

Minister K. Mathambo

Ministry of Finance & Development Planning (MFDP)

ing platform specifically targeting property development projects in Southern Africa and led by entrepreneurs Patrick Chella from Zimbabwe and Erik van Eeten from the Netherlands. Boidus Focus spoke with Chella to gain more insight into the company which will be the first of its kind to become active in Botswana.

by Othata Batsetswe: Finance, Investment & Risk Management Specialist Botswana’s financial sector is now warming up to the needs of the economy, especially with regards to asset financing. For several years most financial institutions were focused on unsecured

decades, including a long albeit ended period of government backed rapid development within the country. However, problems such as corruption, collusion and sub-standard workmanship have been the specters haunting the sector since day one. Without formalised legal provisions to regulate the professionals within the construction industry, weeding out the bad seeds and ensuring best practice has always been a tall order but in the past

few years signs of progress have become evident in the dream of regulat-

ing the Botswana CI. 2014 was a bumper year for the regulation promise that saw organizations such as MIST and BOCCIM finally taking action to make a regulated industry a reality. Boidus Focus speaks to some of the key players involved in establishing a regulated environment for the construction industry in order to gain a clearer picture Now that the dust has settled on the 2014 General Elecof where the dream stands today. tions and the Cabinet Ministers have been announced, Bo-

tswana can turn its attention back to the pressing issues CONTINUED ON PAGES 06be&resolved. 08 still to The challenges of the construction industry will fall squarely on the shoulders of the newly appointed Minister

CEO Ramachandran Ottapath Opens Up About Gaborone City Council has established a private the Retail Giant’s Expansion Strategy management company to oversee the commer-

CONTINUED ON PAGE 04

>>> CONTINUED PAGE 05

HOW SPEDU PLANS TO REVIVE THE SELEBI PHIKWE REGION Selibe Phikwe is synonymous with mining, but mineral wealth cannot last forever, so developing strategies to diversify the areas away from its dependence on mining activities has been a national priority for nearly three decades. We interview Selibe Phikwe Economic Diversification Unit (SPEDU) acting Coordinator, Mr Pako Kedisitse to learn more about the organisation ambitions to develop the region.

How Choppies Decides Where to Open Next MANAGEMENT GCC ESTABLISHES GABS COMPANY

of Infrastructure, Science and Technology (MIST) Mr. Nonofo Molefhi and to tackle these issues effectively he’ll have to get the buy in of several other ministries in addition to his own. Boidus Focus presents a snapshot of the most crucial issues this crop of ministers will have to confront in order to safeguard Botswana’s construction industry.

lending in the form of personal loans while providing few options for asset finance. The change is highly welcome and has come at a much needed time.

CONTINUED ON PAGES 6 & 18

by Kibo Ngowi & Keeletsang P. Dipheko Botswana’s construction industry already has a history stretching back

BOIDUS EXCLUSIVE >

Boidus Focus profiles three of Botswana’s largest urban centres to explore their strategies for attracting investment

Progress on the Road to Regulating the Construction Industry

Boidus PLATFORMS

www.boidus.co.bw

www.boidus.co.bw |

Botswana investment A future imagined: Green Understanding the 17 Legal 02 property 06 Economy continues deliverables and Regulatory

Unlocking Investment Opportunities Gaborone, F/Town and Selibe Phikwe

Realty Africa is an equity crowdfundMinistry of Infrastructure, Science & Technology

BOTSWANA’S BUILT ENVIRONMENT NEWSPAPER

FEATURE INSIDE

Property Crowdfunding Comes To Botswana

dus Focus spoke to the heads of four of the most important building material supply companies in the country to learn from their first-hand business perspectives and to find out their thoughts on the state of the building material supply industry as a whole. Minister N. Molefhi CONTINUED ON PAGES 4,15,16,17,19

Registered at GPO as a Newspaper | P8.00 (Including VAT)

BOIDUS FEATURE >

by Killion Mokwete & Kibo Ngowi

It’s that time of the year again when those of us building homes in stages run to the materials store to try and stock up as much as we can to make up for lost time. December has always been a peak time for building materials purchases but how do the business owners feel about the performance of their stores overall? Boi-

OIDUS FOCUS

BOIDUS EXCLUSIVE >

The Unresolved Issues That Should Be at the Top of the New Ministers’ Agendas

by Kibo Ngowi

Glass production has been identified as an untapped market that Botswana has the potential to exploit. In an exclusive interview with Boidus Focus a Director of the leading

Project Time Extensions – BIDP Versus JBCC

to perform well

BOIDUS FEATURE >

The Botswana Construction Sector Now

Inside the Building Materials Supply Industry

A P120 million market with the potential to rise through exports

Stan Garrun

Towards a Regulated and Professional Construction Industry

Registered at GPO as a Newspaper | P8.00 (Including VAT)

by Kibo Ngowi

Can Botswana Grow its Glass Production Industry?

Affordable Housing MarketUnchartered Territory

• Danger of over investment • Leads to falling rental yields and poor returns for investors • Knock on impact on banks • Inadequate supply of affordable housing • unbalanced lending - too much lending for retail and commercial property, not enough for residential

CONSTRUCTION DEFECTS: who’s fooling who?

Boidus speaks to key stakeholders and looks back on another noteworthy year for the sector

by H. Killion Mokwete

• Positive real returns • Especially attractive in an en¬vironment of low interest rates (negative real rates) • An important asset for both institutions and individuals • Still a large amount of invest¬ment in property

BOIDUS FEATURE >

by Keeletsang Dipheko & Kibo Ngowi

by Boidus Admin

Property Market remains a good investment but weakness beginning to appear

Inside Molapo Piazza Courtesy of the BIDP

OIDUS FOCUS

Gaborone FairGrounds

GABORONE FAIRGROUNDS

OfficePARK Park OFFICE

| Volume 4, Issue 11 |DECEMBER 2014

Art is All Around Us

Building and Construction in 2014: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

BOIDUS EXCLUSIVE >

A review of key year industry highlights that mark the success, challenges and future opportunities of the Botswana Property and Construction Industry.

Victor Senye

Mexican Fusion Restaurant Mixes Modern, Rustic & Cultural Design

cORPORATE PROFILE

Understating A Performance Bond, Its Purposes And Implications?

P8.00 (Including VAT) BOIDUS EXCLUSIVE FEATURE >

BOTSWANA’S BUILT ENVIRONMENT NEWSPAPER

www.boidus.co.bw |

by Kibo Ngowi In business it’s often said that location is everything and none should understand this better than the company that seems to be around the corner in just about every part of the country. Choppies has grown to be the largest supermarket chain in Botswana with 71 stores within the country, 28 in South Africa and 14 in Zimbabwe. As with any recognisable brand its

cialisation of activities under the Council’s mandate. presence always has an influence on to GCC Principal Economist, Tebogo We speak Tshoswane consumer patterns and thus the value to find out the Company’s ambitions.

INSIDE F/TOWN’S AMBITIOUS DEVELOPMENT PLAN

Botswana’s second largest city is widely considered the ‘capital of the north’ but slump in developments in recent years has forced city leadership to formulate a plan to reposition the city as a vibrant metropolis.

of the commercial property in which it is located. Boidus Focus spoke to Choppies CEO Ramachandran Ottappath about the decisive role that real estate trends have played and will continue to play in his company’s expansion plans.

>>> CONTINUED PAGES 03, 04

How BIUST Plans to Drive Botswana’s Knowledge Economy by Kibo Ngowi

The Government has embarked on a mission to make Botswana a centre of innovation. The nation of only two million people has enjoyed rapid development in the past half century that has been mainly due to revenue gen-

erated from minerals that may soon be depleted, so the call for diversification has become almost a cliché. As the lustre of the diamonds fades innovation is being touted as one of the sectors Bo>>> CONTINUED PAGE 15

>>> CONTINUED PAGES 04, 08

CONTINUED ON PAGE 9

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SERVICES

• Electrical Installations (Building Services) • Electrical Instalations (High Voltage) • Industrial Automation • Electronic Security Solutions (CCTV, Access, Fire) • Video Conferencing & Public Address Systems

Systems & Services Engineers (Pty) Ltd “Delivering innovative, sustainable and socially responsible engineering solutions to the built environment and infrastructure projects”

contacts

Tel : 395 67 66 Fax : 395 67 68 Cell : 72 113 010 Plot 20695 Unit 6 Block 3 Industrial E-mail : ben@benelectrical.co.bw web : www.benelectrical.co.bw

international news P15

BOIDUS FOCUS MARCH 2015

A new New Cairo:

Egypt plans £30bn purpose-built capital in desert The currently nameless city of five million would be home to 660 hospitals, 1,250 mosques and churches, and a theme park four times the size of Disneyland – all to be completed within seven years. Could it happen?

Egypt’s capital has moved two-dozen times in the country’s 5,000-year history, but its current seat of power has remained unchanged since AD 969. That was the year when Fatimid invaders began to build a grand enclosure to house their new mosques and palaces – a private city known to its residents as al-Qahera, and eventually to the world as Cairo. But a millennium on, and nearly 20 million inhabitants later, Cairo’s time might finally be up – if Egyptian officials are to be believed. The government has announced plans to pass Cairo’s baton to another foreign-helmed development. Just as al-Qahera once was, this new capital is to be built from scratch – in this case by the Emirati businessman behind the Burj Khalifa – on virgin sands to the east of its predecessor.

“Egypt has more wonders than any other country in the world, and provides more works that defy description,” said the bombastic housing minister, Mostafa Madbouly, as he unveiled the £30bn project in front of 30 visiting emirs, kings and presidents, and hundreds of would-be investors. “This is why it is necessary for us as Egyptians to enrich this picture – and to add to it something that our grandchildren will be able to say enhances Egypt’s characteristics.” The scale of the plans certainly defies historical norms. If completed, the currently nameless city would span 700 sq km (a space almost as big as Singapore), house a park double the size of New York’s Central Park, and a theme park four times as big as Disneyland – all to be completed within five to seven years. According to the brochure, there will be exactly 21 residential districts, 25 “dedicated districts”, 663 hospitals and clinics, 1,250 mosques and churches, and 1.1m homes housing at least five million residents. (The Guardian)

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Hand crafted wooden doors and panels

Our high tech computerized machines enables us to manufacture locally [moulding machine, cutting machine, wrap oven, drilling machine]

Specialists in: • prefabricated housing, office, classroom & tuck shop • dry-wall partition • aluminium products • wooden products • hardware store • shop-fittings • garage doors

Fireplaces, Kitchen cabinetry

Wardrobes, Kitchen cabinetry

Prefab cabins built on site, Counters, Aluminium (I.H.S. Molepolole)

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BOIDUS FOCUS MARCH 2015

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EDITORS NOTE P17

BOIDUS FOCUS MARCH 2015

EDITORS NOTE

Looming Housing Market Correction a long time coming By H. Killion Mokwete, RIBA Chartered Architect Social media is alive with rumblings of a looming financial crisis in Botswana. Rumours are spreading about serious financial challenges faced by the major banks in the country. Five months ago we tried to investigate a rumour that a certain bank was closing its home loans section and were told that everything was fine and the bank does not discuss its financial plans with the media. A few months down line the same bank has lost its newly recruited Head of mortgage loans to another bank, and I am told mortgage lending is currently under review. Other leading banks have restructured their property lending into smaller bite-sized units and I am told this trend is catching on with all the big four as they are all reviewing mortgage lending. All the undercurrent and street talk is now turning into full blown panic amongst building consumers who are increasingly unable to get loans, especially property loans. Without bank lending, the property market, especially the housing sector, could now be headed towards a crash or ‘restructuring’ as some would call it. But what is amazing is that some seem to be surprised by this turn of events. So how did we get here? How we got here has been clear as day for a while though many refused to believe the facts staring them in the face. The property market in Botswana, which is said to be driven by demand, was always going to have to peak and experience a slowdown. The rate of growth, which in 2011 stood at more than 20% returns (IPD), was always too good to

Certainly there could have been no way that Botswana’s property market, which is largely based around greater Gaborone, could sustain such levels of growth and returns were it not for a ‘manufactured’ demand. The current conundrum that the country faces has all the hallmarks of the 2008 US housing bubble which played a major role in the global economic crisis. This housing bubble, defined as‘The rapid increases in the valuations of real property until unsustainable levels are reached in relation to incomes and other indicators of affordability’ rings true to the state of our property market. Other factors such as low interest rates and consumer debt levels could have contributed to the looming housing bubble but all these indicators were all there for anyone to see for the past two years or so. I guess the market chose not tobelieve the facts but rather it’s our own lying eyes. PHENYO Motlhagodi

MANAGING EDITOR

DISTRIBUTION

BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

ART DIRECTOR

H. Killion Mokwete

Bridget MacKean

DEPUTY EDITOR

GRAPHICS ASSISTANT

Kibo Ngowi

Taelo Maphorisa

STAFF WRITER

SALES

ACCOUNTS

Ngwewabo Mokwete

largest real estate investment market

be true. These rates were so good that they actually made Botswana’s tiny property market more lucrative than that of a lot of world super power markets such as Japan, UK, Canada, USA and far ahead of South Africa. For example, for the year 2011, the South African property market was returning 10% returns while USA and UK stood at 15% and 8% respectively. The question that was never answered effectively was how could it be that our property market could be growing and making such astronomical returns during a recession? Was the market being engineered by the so-called demand and supply forces? Was property being sold at a higher cost than its actual value?

BOIDUS TEAM March 2015

Keeletsang Dipheko

U.S. leads the world’s

Martha Rooi ruth dichaba GUEST COLUMNISTS

Tara Michelle Theron Tebogo Sekwenyane tlotlo arnold

Sethebe Manake CHRISTOPHER BURTON Euan Massey and Natalie Reyneke

www.boidus.co.bw

OIDUS FOCUS

The U.S. has overtaken China to become the world's largest real estate investment market, according to research published by Cushman & Wakefield. With better relative economic growth, QE and low interest rates all continuing to encourage investors to spread their interest in property, U.S. real estate investment performance is set to improve further. The U.S. and Canada in fact are leading in some of the key trends changing all global cities, such as technology, sustainability and demographic change. According to Cushman & Wakefield’s annual global capital markets report International investment Atlas published at MIPIM, most of the market is in rude health. The publication forecasts global investment volumes to rise by 11% in 2015 to US$1.34 trillion, led by Europe and the U.S. Global real estate investment fell however in 2014 for the first time in five years, dropping 6.3% to US$1.21 trillion - but this decline in activity can be solely attributed to a drop in Chinese land purchasing. The Americas saw strong investment market performance in 2014 with yields edging down to historic lows in many markets and volumes rising 11.4% to stand at 71% of their 2007 peak. North America in particular is again leading

the global market, with the region’s economy an increasing focus for global growth and its property market benefiting from high levels of domestic and international liquidity as well as a recovering occupational sector. Market and economic conditions were tough for the Latin American market meanwhile, as weaker commodity prices, deleveraging and heightened uncertainty all impacted. As investors moved away from emerging markets, property demand in the region was hit, with activity falling 17%, thanks in particular to falls in the retail sector. Market-by-market trends were quite divergent however, with Brazil up but Mexico down, albeit on the back of an explosive performance in 2013. Trends in the region’s smaller markets were similarly divergent. Looking into 2015, the Americas are expected to perform strongly, with a further rise in activity driven by the U.S., rising values from yield compression and, in the case of the U.S., rental growth as well. (SA Commercial Prop News)

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to Botswana’s Built Environment Newspaper To get your copy delivered to your door, send your details to:

+267 3182209 mail@boidus.co.bw

Call us for a FREE quotation 73872311 / 74327444 We use latest technology. We are fast, use less paint, high quality ¿nish, last longer than brush / roller. We do general painting, screenwalls, warehouses and big projects. We do Epoxy coating and supply gammazine. • All roof types • Discoloured / faded tiles • New / Old galvanised steel roof (Disenke) • Change roof colour to a new one • Give your property a new life Storm Valley (PTY) LTD P O Box 601584 e Gaborone

Frro F om m P1 P 15 1 50 5 00

BOIDUS FOCUS MARCH 2015

Boidus Media be your partner on any of the following;

Specialists in LED LIGHTS and ENERGY SAVING LAMPS

ED LIGHTS is not only a highly exclusive, designer inspired, modern lighting distributor it is also a phenomenon in Botswana. Our ever expanding product range provides lighting solutions to most sectors and is popular in homes, offices, retail spaces, manufacturing and hospitality environments across the country. Our range of light fittings represents the most unique style available globally with ingenious innovative ideas to save energy. Quality and safety requirements are enshrined in the ethics codes of ED LIGHTS. We ensure our customers receive the best by complying with world class quality and safety standards.

Unit 10, Western Industrial Estate BDC Complex, Block 3 Industrial, Gaborone Tel: 391 3506 | Fax: 391 3864 Email: info@edlights.co.bw

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OPEN ON SUNDAYS

COMPANY PROFILE Scotch Macdonald (Pty) Ltd. Trading as Delta Glass & Aluminium has developed a wealth of experience over the years in Botswana Architectural Glass and Aluminium supply market. Delta Glass & Alu minium is Botswana’s foremost supplier of Suppliers of: an enormous variety of specialised glass PO Box AD 214 ADD Gaborone products and Architectural aluminium Architectural Aluminium & Botswana applications such as Shop front systems, Tel: (+267) 3925395 Glass, Curtain Wallings, Shower Curtain Wall, windows and doors, shower Fax: (+267)3925350 and Patio Doors cubicles, skylight and Louvers and numer Plot 23609, Unit 7 ous other products that complement the Gaborone West Industrial Fenestration Industry. Plot 53609, Unit 7 Gaborone, Botswana Gaborone West Industrial As an active member of the Botswana BuCompany Profile Gaborone, Botswana reau of Standards technical advisory com-

SUPPLIERS OF: Architectural Aluminum & Glass, Curtain Wallings, shower and Patio Doors

Tel: (+267) 3925384/95 Fax: (+267) 3925350 Cell: (+267) 71321032 Email: grantstacydelta@gmail.com

All light fittings carry a

one year warranty.

Suppliers of: Architectural, Commercial, Domestic and Industrial Lighting Services offered: Lighting Layouts & Designs, Technical Expertise, and Lighting Consulting

Your Product Bespoke Special Promotion Media Events Publications

With a diverse range of content relating to the Built Environment of Botswana, let Boidus help you reach your target market directly on a regular basis. Contact our Boidus Team to find out what opportunities would best suit your advertising needs.

ADVERTISING P19

Boidus Media Events will return in 2015 with its key event series; State of Our Cities CBD Executive Seminar and Property Market Breakfast Seminars. Let us help you with your event in bringing together the key stakeholders of the Built Environment.

Boidus has a diverse portfolio of publications, and can help develop the framework and collect information for these special projects. We have our own in-house designers to help you with the full production of your unique publication.

mittee we at Delta Glass & Aluminium Scotch Macdonald (Pty) Ltd. Trading as Delta Glass & Aluminium has developed a wealth of Tel: (+267) 3925384 / 95 combine the technical expertise of the experience over the years in Botswana Architectural Glass and Aluminium supply market. Delta Fax: (+267) 3925350 most experienced glass and aluminium Glass & Aluminium is Botswana’s foremost supplier of an enormous variety of specialised glass Cell: (+267) 71321032 products and Architectural aluminium applications such as Shop front systems, Curtain Wall, designers and engineers in Southern AfriEmail: grantstacydelta@gmail.com windows and doors, shower cubicles, skylight and Louvers and numerous other products that complement the Fenestration Industry. As an active member of the Botswana Bureau of Standards technical advisory committee we at Delta Glass & Aluminium combine the technical expertise of the most experienced glass and aluminium designers and engineers in Southern Africa to render expert opinion on all aspects of aluminium and glass fenestration, we help determine the best solutions, both technically and economically, with systems and products that have been carefully engineered and thoroughly tested to comply with the most stringent performance specifications. Operating from our 1600 square metre warehouse in Gaborone west industrial, Delta has a most comprehensive distribution network in place to service local and northern businesses with our fleet of purpose built vehicles. Most importantly, Delta boasts a team of highly experienced technical, production and management personnel focused on maintaining the high level of service and quality standards for which we are renowned.

ca to render expert opinion on all as of aluminium and glass fenestratio help determine the best solutions, technically and economically, with tems and products that have been fully engineered and thoroughly test comply with the most stringent p mance specifications.

Operating from our 1600 square warehouse in Gaborone west indu Delta has a most comprehensive bution network in place to service and northern businesses with our fl purpose built vehicles. Most import Delta boasts a team of highly experie technical, production and manage personnel focused on maintaining high level of service and quality stan for which we are renowned.

We have worked with: BDC, FNB, BHC, TURNSTAR and many other key companies. Come talk to us about your project. Boidus (Pty) Ltd. | P.O. Box 50097, Gaborone | Plot 2930, Ext. 10, t +267 3182209 | e mail@boidus.co.bw | www.boidus.co.bw

XIAN PROPERTIES (Pty) Ltd

www.cnonline.co.bw

PVC CEILING, TIMBER & FLOOR TILES WHOLESALER WE SUPPLY & INSTALL: fire resistance, water resistance, advanced technology, Fast installation, paintless, easy cleaning, long lasting 15-20 years.

YOUR OFFICE. DELIVERED.

BUSINESS FURNITURE

RELIANCE OFFICE SUPPLY We stock a wide range of Timber: Purline(50*76), Rafter (38*152, 38*228, 38*114, ), Brandary (38*38, 38*50) all sizes from 4.2m-6.6m)

We are Botswana’s leading corporate furniture supplier and have been in operation since 1989. We hold the exclusive Botswana franchise for CECIL NURSE. Business Furniture, the prestigious South African company with 9 branches in South Africa. Having worked for years with interior designers, corporate layout specialists and on large corporate projects, we have now rebranded and redesigned our own space here in Gaborone. Whilst in the past we relied on catalogues and design software to display our furniture to customers, we now have a dedicated showroom to display our ranges in all their full-size glory. Please allow us the opportunity to welcome you into our working haven and to introduce you to our ranges of: executive and operator

desking and seating; reception furniture; soft seating; boardroom furniture; screens and partitions; training and educational furniture; restaurant, cafe and canteen furniture and storage and filing systems. Our furniture is of the highest quality, with most products holding a 5 year warranty. We showcase ranges for all budgets including pieces designed and imported from Italy. We provide delivery and installation, so that you can order in the knowledge that your furniture will be set-up in your office to your exacting specifications.

We understand that you spend an average of 264 days at work each year. Let us help you spend those days surrounded by the beautiful office furniture you deserve.

RELIANCE OFFICE SUPPLIES (PTY) LTD t/a CECIL NURSE BUSINESS FURNITURE Location-Gaborone, Block 3-along the Western Bypass

Tel: 3951421 Cel:75405777

email: zhang_resawf@hotmail.com

Plot 1247, Haile Selassie Rd, Old Industrial, Gaborone | P.O. Box 1084 Mogoditshane, Botswana Tel: +267 3956578 | Fax: 3974377 | Email: graham@cnonline.co.bw

advertising P20

BOIDUS FOCUS MARCH 2015

Get to Builders Warehouse.

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SPEAK TO US ABOUT A TRADE ACCOUNT! BUILDERS WAREHOUSE BOTSWANA: GABORONE: Airport Junction Shopping Centre, Plot No. 70665, A1 Road, Tel: 00267 393 0533 FRANCISTOWN: Plot Number 31247, Mowana Park, Somerset West Industrial, Along A1 Road, Tel: 00267 2425200/5222 MONDAY TO FRIDAY: 7AM - 6PM; SATURDAY: 7AM - 4PM; SUNDAY AND PUBLIC HOLIDAYS: 8AM - 2PM