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Levy on Technical Devices Fund (LTDF)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Section 35G of the Copyright and Neighbouring Rights Act provides for the establishment of the Levy on Technical Devices Fund (LTDF). The LTDF was established through Statutory Instrument (Fund Order) No. 94 of 2008. This was repealed by Statutory Instrument No. 33 of 2022. Section 4 of the Fund Order provides that the levy collected shall be used for the development of the authors, publishers of works and the copyright industries. In the context of the Copyright and Neighboring Rights Act, author refers to the creator of a literary or artistic work. This includes photographer, writer, music composer, visual artist, etc, while publisher means anyone who makes a work available to third party i.e., producer, broadcaster etc.

As per the Policy on Application for Grants and Monitoring Projects under the LTDF, Botswana citizens (natural and legal persons) are invited to apply for grants to fund projects that meet objectives of the LTDF.

OBJECTIVES OF THE FUND

Projects proposed for funding under the LTDF, should be in line with objectives of the Fund which are to:  

  • Promote creation and production of literary and artistic works;
  • Support enforcement of copyright and neighbouring rights;
  • Support information dissemination on any matter that promotes creative industries;
  • Support initiatives that enhance skills of rights holders;
  • Promote production of quality literary and artistic works;
  • Promote effectiveness of rights-holders’ organisations;
  • Promote collaborations within the creative industries; and
  • Support any other projects and programmes that promote the development and growth of the creative industries.

ELIGIBILITY

As per Rule 2 of the Policy for Eligibility for Funding under the LTDF, to be eligible for funding, an applicant must meet any one of the following criteria:

  1. Citizens of Botswana with a minimum age of 18 years (applicants below the age of 21, should submit a guardian’s consent);
  2. Businesses registered under the Business Names Registration Act that are 100% owned by Botswana citizens.
  3. Companies registered under the Companies Act with 100% citizen ownership, and the company must be up to date with its annual returns.
  4. Voluntary and self-governing organisations (e.g., foundations, association, charities, societies, trusts) registered in Botswana with 100% citizen members/Beneficiaries/Founders.

PROJECT DURATION AND BUDGET

Grants shall be awarded to projects whose:

  • Project Duration

Duration of projects does not exceed 36 months;

  • Grant Amount
  1. Minimum grant requested is P10, 000.00 and Maximum grant request is one million Pula (P1, 000, 000.00).
  • Non-Eligible Budget Items

The following will not be funded through the LTDF:

  • Vehicles;
  • Projects that are exclusively capacity building or travel;
  • Second-hand equipment;
  • Purchase of undeveloped pieces of land, whether or not intended activities are linked to the creative sector;
  • Any other expenses as the Management Committee may determine shouldn’t be funded for reasons it may advance.

NB: The LTDF Management Committee may request the applicant to adjust its proposed budget.

APPLICATION PROCESS

a) Application forms can be accessed as follows:

    • Collected from CIPA offices in Gaborone, Francistown, Maun and Serowe;
    • Downloaded from the CIPA website at www.cipa.co.bw;
    • Downloaded from the CIPA Facebook page: Companies and Intellectual Property Authority – Botswana;
    • Requested by email: ltdf@cipa.co.bw ;

b) CIPA will accept both handwritten and word-processed application forms. Hand-written applications should be legible.

c) Each application should adopt one language: either Setswana or English.

d) The application form must be completed in triplicate (3 copies must be submitted) and submitted in a single sealed envelope.

e) Applications should NOT be submitted by email or Fax.

 

REQUIRED DOCUMENTS AND ATTACHMENTS

Applicants should include the following documents and attachments:

  1. Completed Application Form;
  2. A certified copy of identity/ Omang, in the case of individual applicants;
  3. A Curriculum Vitae of the project leader;
  4. If applicant is a company, company extract, valid tax clearance certificate;
  5. If applicant is an entity, attach an official proof that the person signing the declaration of the application is the legal representative of the applicant and is legally authorized to represent the applicant, or letter of authorization for groups;
  6. In the case of associations/societies/non-governmental organizations, provide certified copies of registration certificates, constitution for societies, and a list of Board of Directors/Trustees;
  7. In the case of government departments, attach a covering letter from the parent Ministry;
  8. In the case of parastatal organizations, provide a copy of the establishing instrument and the list of Board of Directors.
  9. Endorsement and recommendation letters (if any).
  10. Reference letters from previous sponsors (where applicable).
  11. Economic Diversification Drive certificate (if available).
  12. Any other information that may support your application.

 

SUBMISSION OF THE APPLICATION

The application should be addressed as follows:

SECRETARIAT

The Levy on Technical Devices Fund Management Committee

Companies and Intellectual Property Authority

P.O Box 102, GABORONE

Applications may be submitted through any of the following:

  • Postal address, to the postal address; P O Box 102, Gaborone.
  • Courier to Plot 54358, Block A, Prime Plaza, CBD.
  • Physically/Hand delivered to the following addresses:

 

GABORONE

 

Copyright Department

Plot 54358, Block A

Prime Plaza, CBD

Tel: 3673726

FRANCISTOWN

 

Plot No: 903, Unit18/19/20, Tati River Mall

Tel: 241 6808

SEROWE

 

 

Plot No: 16148

Main Mall CAS Centre building

Tel: 463 0322

MAUN

Lot 28049

Chobe Ward, Old DAMSAC Building

Tel: 680 0912

 NB: Any application submitted though any other means, other than the above listed shall not be considered.

 

EVALUATION PROCESS

Applications will be subjected to the evaluation stages outlined below. An application should meet requirements of a stage for it to proceed to the next stage. Failure to meet requirements of any stage renders an application unsuccessful.

Stage1: The Screening Stage/ Administrative Compliance

At this stage, proposals are screened for administrative compliance. Please refer to the Required Documents and Attachments Section. This stage is carried out by the Secretariat. Non-compliant applications shall not proceed to the next stage.

 

Stage 2: The Selection Stage/ Technical Stage

  • This is a technical evaluation stage, where applications are assessed according to marks allocated in the Application Form.
  • An application must obtain a 75% pass mark, in accordance with the marks allocated for in the Application Form.
  • This stage is carried out by the Management Committee. Independent assessors may be engaged as it may be deemed necessary.
  • Any application that fails to reach the 75% pass mark shall not proceed to the next stage.

 

Stage 3: Interview Stage

  • Applications that pass the selection stage will undergo an interview with the Management Committee.
  • This is the final evaluation stage. Mainly the objective of this stage is for the Management Committee to assess the project ownership, capability and capacity to execute.
  • An application must obtain a 75% pass mark.

DEADLINE

Applications should be received NOT later than 17:00hrs on the 16th February 2024.

For postal and courier submission, the date of submission shall be the date stamp and time as provided by the service provider (postal and courier).

 

NB: APPLICATIONS SUBMITTED LATE, BY FAX OR EMAIL WILL BE  AUTOMATICALLY DISQUALIFIED.

CONTACT DETAILS

For further enquiries, please contact the CIPA Copyright Office on the following:

Tel: 3673726/ 3910 /3720

Email: ltdf@cipa.co.bw

(NB: the email address is for enquiries only,  EMAILED SUBMISSIONS WILL NOT BE CONSIDERED)

You may visit CIPA offices as indicated above.

NB: All consultations on this open call shall be closed on 09th February 2024.

 

APPLICATION DOCUMENTS (click to download)

2023 LTDF Application Form

LTDF Open Call – Guidelines

Fomo ya Kopo ya Letlole la Badiragatsi

Taletso ya Letlole la LTDF

Administrative Compliance Checklist

Policy on Eligibility for Funding under the LTDF

Policy on Application for Grants and Monitoring Projects under the LTDF

Frequently Asked Questions

DEVICES WHICH ATTRACT A LEVY

The different devices which attract levy as provided for in the Copyright and Neighbouring Rights Act Regulations, 2007 are listed below with the percentage cost of each:

Goods Percentage of the Cost Price levied
Audio cassette 2%
 Video cassette 2%
Compact disc (CD) 1%
Digital Video Decoders (DVD) 1%
Cellphones 2%
Computer 1%
CD Writer 1%
Photocopier 1%
Printer 2%
Scanner 2%
Modulator 1%
IPOD 1%
MP3 Player 1%
Flash Disk 1%
Camcorder 2%
Digital Camera 2%

The levy is collected by the Botswana Unified Revenue Service (BURS) and deposited the Levy on Technical Devices Fund which was established by the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning through Statutory Instrument No. 94 of 2008.

The Fund is administered by the Levy on Technical Devices Fund Committee appointed by Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Trade and Industry who is the Accounting Office for the Fund.  Currently the Committee comprises of ten members drawn from the government, private sector and literary and artistic works rights holders associations.

The Committee is mainly tasked with the following responsibilities:

  • Issuing open calls for funding;
  • Receiving project proposals from the public;
  • Evaluating project proposals;
  • Awarding grants; and
  •  Making decisions on the use of the Fund to promote creativity.

 

 

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