BOFEPUSU Slams talk of civil service cuts
The Botswana Federation of Public, Private, and Parastatal Sector Unions (BOFEPUSU) has reacted with alarm over recent suggestions by Ministry of Finance officials to downsize the public service and cut salaries.
“We are shocked because we do not believe that the UDC Government which promised to create jobs will tolerate any suggestions to cut civil servants or reduce their salaries. While this may be coming from the technocrats, we will not sit back and watch as people are being driven into unemployment,” said BOFEPUSU Publicity Secretary Oreeditse Nyatso.
Nyatso noted that the rate of unemployment is too high, and that it was a concern the union raised with Minister of Labour and Home Affairs, Major General Pius Mokgware, earlier this week.
With 13 affiliates, BOFEPUSU membership is estimated at P190,000 and 100,000 of them being civil servants. He said that they will be monitoring the situation and will get advice from the membership in due course.
However, Principal Public Relations Officer for the Ministry, Keneilwe Segopolo, said that the remarks at a Budget Pitso for local authorities were misunderstood and it is not the position of the ministry.
“It was a question put to the Local Authorities as one of the many options on cutting Government expenditure. Do we increase tax, do we reduce money and give agriculture the bulk of the budget so that we diversify, or do we cut down on the government payroll which is P2billion per month”?
She explained that currently diamonds revenues are down from P45 billion to P24 billion and therefore impacting hard on the government revenues.
Meanwhile, public reactions to the idea of reducing the civil service or cutting salaries have been overwhelmingly negative.
Tshepho Nkgo from Lejwana village just outside Lobatse, said that he strongly opposes any idea of reducing the civil service or cutting the salaries of civil servants.
“Civil servants like any other Motswana, have families and other personal needs and if you cut their salaries, how do you expect them to pay for school fees for their children, food, housing, clothing and others,” he said.
He said that the government should uplift the lives of Batswana.
A combi driver from Mabule village, Tlotlo Moabi, also said that he strongly opposed any retrenchment or reduction of civil servants’ salaries as that will have a negative impact on the general economy of the country.
“According to my own view, reducing the civil service will increase unemployment and hit hard on first time job seekers who do not posses any experience in their careers. Right now we spend long queues waiting for service in some government offices like the Department of Road Transport and Safety, which is a sign that there is need to increase the work force. Now if they reduce them, service delivery is going to suffer and the impact will be felt by the people,” he said.
Another commentator who preferred not to be photographed or mentioned by name said that any reduction of the civil service will be a step towards farewell ceremony for the ruling UDC.
She said the BDP lost power because it had failed to create jobs for its citizens and therefore UDC should also be extra cautious not to kill the already small number of employed people.
Recently the Director General of Directorate of Public Service Management, Gaone Macholo, said that they are working on reforms that will improve efficiency in the public service.
