07 May 2017

Assistant Minister for Presidential Affairs, Governance and Public Administration, Mr Thato Kwerepe on May 4 undertook a familiarisation tour of the departments of information and broadcasting services to appreciate the services they offer the public.

During the tour, deputy permanent secretary, information and broadcasting services, Mr Bome Matshaba briefed Mr Kwerepe on the processes involved in information gathering and processing of news.

Mr Matshaba also told the assistant minister that the two departments were responsible for the interpretation and dissemination of government policies to the public.

He added that it came with a lot of challenges such as shortage of resources, manpower and transport to service the entire country.

Mr Kwerepe also learnt that employees’ progression was slow, especially for the upper grades, while it was better at the lower scales due to multiple grading.

Briefing the assistant minister, Department of Information Services acting director, Ms Maria Leshongwane said the department was able to distribute DailyNews to 544 villages in the country, adding that currently some villages were not reached due to transport hiccups.

She said in due course, the department would categorise villages to determine supply looking at their different populations.

She further told Mr Kwerepe that the department was striving to provide equal coverage to Members of Parliament and Cabinet members, but acknowledged that it was not possible to cover all their events, especially after Parliament sitting when most of them were conducting kgotla meetings to brief their electorates.

Meanwhile, Department of Broadcasting Services director, Mr Lesole Obonye told the assistant minister that the department was primarily operating with freelance and national internship officers, which in a way created a vacuum for continuity and was counterproductive.

He also said the bulk of the equipment needed replacement to keep up with the latest technologies, especially at Radio Botswana and RB2 studios.

Mr Obonye also briefed Mr Kwerepe about the latest DBS projects and developments that included introduction of latest technology to bridge digital divide to consumers, Broadcasting Services Call Centre and upgrading of broadcast transmitters for wider coverage.

During the tour, the assistant minister was also shown the latest purchased outside broadcast vehicle with eight cameras that would enable outside TV live broadcast.

In response, Mr Kwerepe appreciated the tour and promised the management that as the ministry’s leadership, they would always endeavour to engage further with regards to challenges faced by the two departments as well as to engage with the staff to address issues of staff welfare. ENDS