After spending just under two years away from the corridors of the government enclave, Gabriel Seeletso – the former Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) Secretary has got his name back in the government pay-roll, thanks to the deadly disease – Covid 19.Seeletso has been roped back to civil service by local government minister – Eric Molale through a tailor-made position of Coordinator – Social Protection packages for Covid 19 pandemic.
On Wednesday, without stating his renumeration package, Molale confirmed Seeletso’s return further stating that his appointment has been endorsed by President Mokgweetsi Masisi. Amongst other measures to contain the deadly Covid 19 disease the government intends to roll out a relief programme entailing supply of food baskets to thousands of families across the country.
Addressing journalists through a virtual press conference on Wednesday, Molale said he could not think of any other person better than Seeletso to coordinate national operation centres which include village extension teams and local authorities. Molale said he vouched for the appointment of Seeletso as the coordinator given his capabilities to handle crisis citing his battle with cattle disease outbreak in Ngamiland some two decades ago.
Despite the good rating by Molale, Seeletso enjoyed bad publicity post his job as Secretary of the IEC after his reappointment by government as the consultant for Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) in 2017. During the same year, the integrity of Electronic Voting Machines got hit when a supposed showpiece organised by the Independent Electoral Commission descended into chaos. Seeletso, who at the time was the public face of attempts to sell machines to a doubting public also had his integrity on the line. The government was to later shut the office that Seeletso was overseeing and announced that that the EVM will not be used during the 2019 general elections.
Meanwhile Seeletso is expected to amongst other things direct the use of the Covid Fund Monies within the local government as well as tap into the local government ministry’s recurrent budget monies. In February 2020 the Finance ministry pegged the local government ministry recurrent budget at P7.15 billion.
