16 Nov 2016

Parliament has been informed that in 2011, 2012 and 2013, Botswana Prisons Service placed advertisements in newspapers inviting candidates for posts of warders/wardress.

The advertisements stated that the candidates should be in possession of a BGCSE or equivalent certificate with a minimum of 30 points and credit in English. The salary scale was advertised as B2/3/4.

Answering a question in parliament on Monday from the MP for Francistown South, Mr Wynter Mmolotsi, Minister of Defence, Justice and Security, Mr Shaw Kgathi said there were 83 individuals who submitted applications to be considered for appointment at the rank of warder/wardress, indicating that they were in possession of BGCSE certificates.

Minister Kgathi noted that as a result, they were enrolled on the understanding that they were BGCSE certificate holders qualifying for the basic rank of warder/wardress.

However, he said it was later during their service when the department was compiling a skills qualifications audit that such officers revealed their qualifications. Some of the officers, he said, were deployed to perform duties in units that were in line with their qualifications at lower level of responsibility equivalent to their ranks.

Nine of these officers holding the rank of warder/wardress were transferred to Prisons headquarters to perform functions in specialised units (accounts, public relations, statistics, and information technology). These officers, he noted, were moved within their grade and rank, with no alterations in their salaries.

He explained that in the Prison service as was the case with other disciplined services, pay was based on rank, not qualifications and therefore for officers’ salaries to be aligned with their qualifications it would require that the concerned officers be promoted to higher ranks in accordance with Section 8(a) of the Prison Act.

Nevertheless, Minister Kgathi said considerations for promotion continued to be made depending on merit and availability of vacancies, in line with Section 10 (2) of the Prisons Act. However, he said, it was worth noting that because of higher numbers of such officers it was difficult to promote them all at the same time.

Mr Mmolotsi had asked the minister whether there were any prison warders who were transferred to headquarters and were performing specialised duties which were in line with their qualifications. 

He also wanted the minister to state their numbers and when their salaries would be aligned with their qualifications. BOPA