The Secretary General of the Botswana Land Boards and Local Authorities Workers Union BLLAWU, Ketlhalefile Motshegwa, says that his Union will next month embark on demonstrations over what he says are “maladministration and corruption practices” within the Serowe District Council, the headquarters of the Central District.
Motshegwa said that the demonstrations will follow after numerous complaints they have raised with the council over issues concerning their members, such as parallel progression and payment of gratuities for their members who have been placed on early exit, have not been paid since they left.
“Of all the councils we are dealing with in the country, the Central District is the most uncooperative one as it does not attend to workers’ issues at all times; that is why we are planning to demonstrate there,” said Motshegwa. “Its authorities are very insensitive and seem not to care about the plight of their employees.”
He said that the situation was so bad that they have called for the intervention of the Ministry of Local Government, which has since promised to look into the matter.
“We decided to take that measure after all our efforts to get issues of concern to our members were not adequately addressed,” he said.
Meanwhile, members of the BLLAWU Tonota Branch on Thursday tried unsuccessfully to petition the Central District Council Secretary, Gaolathe Dipholo, over unpaid gratuities, inefficient and poorly managed human resources department of the Sub Council.
Their petition alleges that this led to a communication lapse between the Office of the Human Resources and the Senior Assistant Council Secretary, Terence Ntalagwe and the nonpayment of the Sub District Council employees.
The petition was to have been received by Ntalagwe but it is reported that he declined for reasons described as “flimsy, clumsy and unclear” by the members of the BLLAWU.
Ntalagwe was not available to answer questions from Sunday Standard as he was reported to be attending meetings in Serowe.
In a related issue of failure to pay those who have been placed on early exit, the Secretary General of BOFEPUSO, Johnson Motshwarakgole, last week expressed displeasure at government’s failure to pay about 400 of their members their gratuities on time calling it a very insensitive thing.
