The Ministry of Local Government says staff poaching at the councils delays the localization exercise.
There are about forty expatriates employed by the councils in technical fields throughout the country.
“The localization exercise in councils is on the right track even though it is experiencing some challenges; we will get there as time goes on,” said Thato Raphaka, the Permanent Secretary at the Ministry.
He explained that, as the ministry, they hope that by the end of National Development Plan NDP 10 they will have completed the exercise.
“So far, we have bout forty expatriates employed by councils throughout the country,” he said, adding that most expatriates that are in councils are in technical fields.
“The biggest challenge that faces the ministry is that most of our staff are either poached by the private sector, some open their own businesses while others go either regional or international, which, in a way, disturbs our localization plan.
However, the executive secretary of the Botswana Association of Local Authority (BALA), Ketlhomilwe Moletsana, said “We are not happy about the slow speed at which the exercise is ongoing.”
He said although we need expatriates they should be given short working contracts, adding that BALA still maintained the idea of decentralization whereby councils are given authority to hire its own staff without the approval of the central government.
Moletsana said although the government has rejected the idea, they will continue engaging the government about it.
He said BALA is still optimistic that the government will come to the table and discuss the matter further.
