The Department of Veterinary Services (DVS) in Maun, tasked with the control of Foot and Mouth Disease in the whole of Ngamiland district has a deficit of 25 frontline extension officers.
Moreover, more than 10 ten departmental trucks have for some time now been rundown, and are grounded at Maun’s CTO, staff complained to Assistant Minister of Agriculture, Oreeditse Molebatsi.
Staff also said a nine-month delay in the payment of their subsistence allowances had made them indebted tomoney lending facilities.
They said for close to two weeks now, they have not been able to deliver services as there has not been any fuel at the three CTO fuel stations of Maun, Gumare and Shakawe.
Another issue raised was that of non progression of junior staff, raising fears that their superiors might be sabotaging them as they are hardly even recommended.
They lamented also that their grievances are never attended to by those in top management, such that even administrative issues are always swept under the carpet.
On the issue of delays in payments, District Agriculture Coordinator, Obed Mabutho, said they are equally concerned as Heads of Departments, and that he was hopeful that they would be able assist sometime soon.
He said unpaid claims had accumulated to more than P3 million, even though they hoped to work on them soon.
“Because of this backlog, we have considered engaging the services of administrators from other departments for assistance and we might as well have to work on weekends, considering the work load. The issue of transport shortage is however a difficult one as it is impossible to have vehicles at all sections. This therefore means we will in the meantime share the few which are available,” he said.
Meanwhile Molebatsi said although still in talks, government had decided to decentralise CTO.
