16 Apr 2013

The Assistant Minister for Presidential Affairs and Public Administration, Dr Gloria Somolekae says had government bowed to suggestions to print more money or borrow unnecessarily, Botswana could be in a state of austerity.

Addressing public servants in Tsabong, Dr Somolekae said government needed to be cautious even though the economy was recovering. She premised the cautious approach to the fact that the Euro Zone was still unstable and therefore still too early to celebrate.

She informed the public servants that government had shelved some new projects as a result of the economic downturn but borrowed just enough to concentrate on the critical needs such as electricity.

On other issues, Dr Somolekae encouraged heads of department to touch base with public servants and share the relevant information they had. She also appealed to heads of departments to address the most immediate issues raised by public servants when they get to their offices.

On one hand, the Assistant Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Mr Olebile Gaborone preached mutual respect between the supervisor and the supervisee. He appealed to supervisors to inform themselves before taking crucial decisions.

Mr Gaborone cited an instance in which a supervisor became emotional and dismissed a supervisee without proper procedure, saying such behaviour may get the government entangled in a series of legal battles.

For his part, Kgalagadi District Council chairperson, Mr Frans van der Westhuizen praised civil servants for their commitment despite working under harsh conditions such as extreme temperatures and shortage of potable water. He labeled Botswana civil service as one of the best trained in Africa and attributed the success of the country to the public servants.

Civil servants tabled various concerns and chief amongst them was travelling overtime allowance. They argued that officers deserved to be paid such overtime allowance because they were travelling outside the normal working days.

They also said the fact that they authorised log books for government vehicles and that they were on transit to carry out public service business was enough for them to be paid travelling overtime allowance.

In response the director of Directorate of Public Service Management (DPSM) Mr Carter Morupise advised officers against travelling on the days and times that would warrant travelling overtime allowance.

He also informed public servants that government was in the process of reviewing Public Service Act of 2008 where the issue of travelling overtime allowance wouldl be addressed. ENDS