The National AIDS Coordinating Agency (NACA) boss, Richard Matlhare, has flatly refused to field questions on reports that he has hatched a surreptitious plan to leverage one of his managers for promotion to deputise him.
NACA, through the Directorate of Public Service Management (DPSM) floated the advertisement at the beginning of this month in which it advertised the vacancy of Deputy National Coordinator Vacancy Circular No.7 of 2012. The advertisement was carried in the government owned Daily News and Echo newspapers.
The advert calls for qualified applicant(s) profile in being a holder of a Degree in a Social Science, Public Health or any equivalent qualification complemented by at least 18 years post qualification experience or equivalent in a senior management position in government, private sector or parastatal organization.
Other requirements for the applicant(s) is training in management, programme planning and experience in HIV and AIDS management as added advantage.
The position is graded at F2 (P387,912 per annum) which translates into a gross salary of P32, 326 per month including other benefits like optional contributory medical aid scheme in which government pays 50 percent with the employee contributing the other 50 percent.
For new entrants, a contract of 24 ÔÇô 36 months with gratuity payable at the rate of 25 percent at the expiration of the contract is provided.
The post of deputy coordinator at NACA has been vacant since April last year following the promotion of Golekanye Setume to chief executive officer at the Botswana Public Officers’ College.
The current NACA executive management team comprises of the coordinator, deputy coordinator and four managers. The managers are in the areas of Corporate Services, Programme Planning, Research Monitoring and Evaluation as well as Education, Communication and Advocacy.
Government enclave sources have read malice in the way the advert for the deputy coordinator has been designed particularly that it is different from the previous edition in which a suitable candidate was not identified.
They are of the view that the current edition of the advert is tailored in such a manner to favour one of the managers whom the director is said to be very close to.
“It is designed in such a way that it favours one of the managers at NACA. It has been designed in such a manner that it completely locks out other potential candidates from qualification from either within or outside the government employment. It is fundamentally different from the previous edition,” maintained a government enclave source.
“We are quite aware that the manager for whom the advert has been tailored to suit failed in the previous attempt to land the job as the recruitment interviewing panel was not convinced he was the right candidate for the job,” said another source.
What is even more curious to the sources is that the previous occupant of the position, Setume’s background was in education, trained as a teacher having taught at a number of schools and rising up the ladder to headmaster before ascending to Performance Coordinator in the Ministry of Education before landing at NACA.
It is the view of the government enclave sources that the advert deliberately renders the other three managers at NACA unsuitable for the post leaving only one suited for the plum post.
“The present advert is certainly different from the one issued after the departure of Mr Golekanye Setume on promotion in April 2011 from Deputy National Coordinator to Chief Executive Officer at the Botswana Public Officers’ College (a P.S. level post),” maintained the government enclave sources.
It is the sources’ conviction that people with programme planning experience in other sectors of the Botswana economy or public life have also been rendered unsuitable as they will not have programme planning experience in the area of HIV/AIDS management.
The sources point out that instead of placing a “fake” advertisement, Matlhare would have done better by recommending his preferred candidate to his superiors at DPSM or Office of the President for appointment to the post.
Further, the sources allege that Matlhare was himself never interviewed for the coordinator’s position since he was handpicked by his predecessor and promoted from the position of manager directly to the position of coordinator and would want to apply the same principle for the appointment of his deputy.
It is contended by the sources that the job of Deputy National Coordinator basically requires a human resources management skilled person as it deals with coordination of the department’s resources (human, office equipment, procurement, finances, records and others).
“Anyone with experience in the corporate services arm of government ministries would fit well into the position. It does not require technical skills such as programme planning as it is basically an office management and human resources management position. The advert was designed at NACA by the National Coordinator and handed to DPSM for publication in the newspapers and eventually convening boards for interviews. The technical (HIV/AIDS related) questions will be compiled by NACA,” maintain the sources.
Approached for comment, Matlhare flatly refused to field Sunday Standard questions saying he did not originate the advert and instead referred this publication to DPSM.
“It is a DPSM advert. I would better refer those enquiries to DPSM. If they feel we must make an input they will tell us. I am not prepared to talk. I am not going to commit to any further responses,” said Matlhare.
Attempts to solicit a comment form DPSM at the time of going press drew a blank.
