Hardly a week after registering their frustration to the Permanent Secretary in the ministry of Presidential Affairs and Public Administration, some Botswana Television (Btv) journalists have been slapped with letters of redeployment.
This has been confirmed to the Sunday Standard by the interim President of the Botswana Federation of Public Sector Union (BOFEPUSO), Masego Mogwera.
“Some time during the course of the week, our members informed us some of them are being redeployed,” she told this paper.
She said that the Union was worried about the fate of their members, adding that it was no coincidence that they received redeployment letters immediately after complaining about the director of broadcasting services, Mogomotsi Kaboeamodimo, and the TV station’s blue-eyed girl, Gloria Kgosi.
The two are accused of lack of professionalism, intimidation, verbal abuse and blackmail.
“Our members are not protected and we fear they might be fired,” she said.
She said that the Union had already communicated with the Permanent Secretary, Tiki Pule, calling for the redeployment to be stopped until the issues the employees have against Kaboeamodimo and Kgosi are resolved.
Mogwera said that through a verbal communication, the permanent secretary has assured the Union that the transfer exercise will be suspended until the issues that staff members are complaining about are addressed.
She said that the Union had given government until Monday to make a written assurance in light of the issue of transfers.
At the time of going to press, Pule was not available to verify the Union’s claims, but government spokesperson, Jeff Ramsay, however insists the transfers are not related.
“Nobody is being transferred from the department; in fact ‘transfer’ is a strong word…none of those redeployments affect the complaints.”
He said that for some time there has been some movement of staff members at Mass media complex and the issues were internal.
Ramsay stated that the issue of transfers and complaint against Kaboeamodimo and Kgosi were two separate issues.
“Redeployments have been on the cards for some months and it can’t affect investigations at any rate,” stated Ramsay.
The aggrieved lot want Kgosi’s appointment as Editor at the TV station to be probed as they complain that she was appointed to the post before she could master news reporting and gathering. They have demanded a one on one interview with Pule to substantiate their claims against the director and Kgosi.
The group claims that there is a ploy to move Kgosi to D4 scale. The employees who have been served with transfer letters are Badumedi Matsetse, Brian Dioka, Betty Dithuri, Mandla Hlabano and Keneetswe Thekiso.
