Sunday Standard Signed, Filed and Forgotten: The Risk of a Company Constitution You Never Understood There is a particular danger when compliance becomes a race against a deadline, and this is precisely what is now unfolding as companies across Botswana rush to adopt and file their constitutions before 30 September 2026. In the urgency to avoid the consequences of non-compliance, the focus has shifted from understanding what is being adopted […] The post Signed, Filed and Forgotten: The Risk of
Signed, Filed and Forgotten: The Risk of a Company Constitution You Never Understood
There is a particular danger when compliance becomes a race against a deadline, and this is precisely what is now unfolding as companies across Botswana rush to adopt and file their constitutions before 30 September 2026. In the urgency to avoid the consequences of non-compliance, the focus has shifted from understanding what is being adopted to simply getting the document signed and submitted, without sufficient consideration of what its provisions actually mean for the company and the people responsible for governing it.
The amendments to the Companies Act introduced a mandatory requirement for companies to have a constitution, with failure to comply carrying a consequence far more serious than an ordinary administrative penalty. A company that fails to comply with the requirement risks removal from the register of companies. Companies were initially given twelve months to comply, and a further six-month extension was subsequently granted, extending the deadline from 16 March 2026 to 30 September 2026.
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The post Signed, Filed and Forgotten: The Risk of a Company Constitution You Never Understood first appeared on Sunday Standard and is written by Laurettah Sibanda
