Botswana Federation of Public, Private and Parastatal Unions (BOFEPUSU) President, Johannes Tshukudu, says no foreign investors will come to invest in the country, as long as it operates under the State of Emergency (SoE).
Tshukudu said the SoE has suppressed all the available laws of the country, including the public procurement processes which he said contributes to corruption.
Speaking during the launch of The Workers Charter today (Friday), the veteran unionist said currently the country leadership is not in consultation with neither citizens nor any stakeholders.
“As a federation, we have seen a lot of inconsistencies in how we handle national issues, and as a result, our structures have said we need to make introspection,” said Tshukudu, adding in their introspection they came up with The Workers Charter.
He said the document is a blueprint that says to the unions that from now going forward there must be a consistent way of dealing with issues at local, regional, and international levels.
“There should be a consistent way in which we are going to relate with political parties, even the ruling party,” he said.
Tshukudu said in the document, the unions have outlined several topical issues that are a concern to both workers and the citizens of the country.
“One of those is the issue of land, some people applied for land in their youth and even now you are still on the waiting list,” said Tshukudu, adding he applied for a plot in 1995 and is yet to be allocated one.
According to Tshukudu, the document also addresses the issue of governance.
“In a democratic setup, it’s not only the voice of one person, but it is the voice of the majority which determines the direction this country has to take. But under the BDP led government, we see only those associated with the party taking the centre stage for the governance of the country,” he lamented.
