11 Jul 2017

About 640 employees in central government and 85 in local authorities will reach the compulsory retirement age during the 2017/18 financial year.

Minister for Presidential Affairs, Governance and Public Administration, Mr Eric Molale said 1 153 and 337 central government and local authorities employees would retire during the 2018/19 financial year respectively.

The minister noted that consistent with the competency based career path, ministries were allocated funds to train officers in line with the required skills. He added that the Public Service College also continued to run training programmes to prepare employees to assume different positions of responsibility.

He explained that the positions were mainly in middle and senior management, and that they were as such filled through the promotion of serving employees.

Minister Molale, however, noted that due to the attractive salary packages in the private sector, government was in some instances unable to retain technical employees at those levels.

He said 32 technical posts would be created by retiring employees during the 2017/18 and 65 during the 2018/19 financial years.

Specially Elected MP, Mr Mephato Reatile had wanted to know the number of employees who reached the compulsory retirement age in the 2017/18 financial year as well as the number of those who would reach the retirement age in the 2018/19 financial year.

The MP also asked whether arrangements for succession had been made with regard to those who held technical posts.

He also requested the minister to state the number of technical posts that would be created by retiring employees. ENDS