Cash stripped Botswana Power Corporation (BPC) is set to appoint two deputy Chief Executive officers as part of its corporate restructuring exercise.
Information passed to The Telegraph indicates that the two deputies will be under technical services and support services respectively. The current CEO of BPC, Jacob Raleru has been working without direct assistants.
However it has since emerged that as part of the transformational strategy, BPC board has approved a new structure that will see the troubled power utility corporation expanding its leadership base.
It is however feared that the ongoing internal restructuring exercise which commenced in 2015 could result in job losses at BPC.
The General Secretary of Botswana Power Corporation Workers Union (BPCWN), Bahithetswe Lentswe, recently said the union is aware of some jobs that have become obsolete or outsourced due to technological changes. Owing to the pending job losses, Lentswe confirmed that sometime in mid-2014 BPC informed the union of the possibility of employees being retrenched or some jobs becoming redundant.
“The union is of the view that job losses should be avoided at all cost. Some of the workers should be redeployed,” he said.
Lentswe suggests that those who are trainable should be re-trained and be redeployed and those who are nearing their retirement could be given early retirement packages. He further confirmed that the process will definitely lead to job losses, but urged that the process be managed well.
Lentswe stated that since the restructuring exercise began, workers affected, or who may be affected have been traumatised as no one knows when the actual retrenchment will commence. Amongst other things, he also added that the whole process is frustrating employees as those who “may be affected” are denied the opportunity to take loans from the banks.
“The Union is also frustrated by the development. Our view as the union is that BPC Management is not handling the process well and not in line with the provisions of Section 25 of the Employment Act,” Lentswe said.
He accused the management of disregarding the fact that workers who “may be affected” still have valid employment contracts with BPC making them eligible to all benefits and services just like the rest of the workers. “We call upon management to continue assisting some of these employees, particularly for purposes of acquiring loans at the banks,” he stated.
