26 Sep 2017

Minister of Employment, Labour Productivity and Skills Development, Mr Tshenolo Mabeo says the ministry is inundated with complaints from private security companies’ employees.

The minister, whose ministry portfolio covers employee relations across all the economy sectors, told a kgotla meeting in Tlokweng on September 25 that all was not well in the security industry.

He told the meeting that his offices received industry complaints on a daily basis, a situation he said was worrying.

However, he said the ministry was working with the Ministry of Defence, Justice and Security, which licenses the security companies to see how the grievances could be addressed.

Minister Mabeo warned that measures would be taken against companies  that contravene the law.

Further, the minister called on the local working cadre to apply itself and be productive in their workplaces.

“The truth is, no investor would want to invest in a country with low productivity levels,” he said.

Mr Mabeo, who is also Thamaga-Kumakwane legislator, said investors wanted to invest in a country with high productivity levels and such a country should be secure with good reputation of employee and employer relations.

He said a country whose workforce was known for holding protests was unlikely to attract foreign direct investments.

Further, Mr Mabeo stated that it was upon the ministry to ensure that employment laws were adhered to and the country had the necessary skills required by the market so that it remained competitive in the global market.

Earlier, Kgosi Puso of Batlokwa, who is also chairperson of Ntlo Ya Dikgosi, stated that the country was facing a huge challenge of unemployment among youth.

Therefore, he said Mr Mabeo’s ministry was crucial to developing and sharpening the skills that the country needed to create more jobs.

Kgosi Puso said although government had empowerment programmes such as Youth Development Fund, there was need to complement such efforts to address unemployment challenges.

The area MP, Mr Masego Segokgo expressed the need to look into the possibility of sending Batswana graduates to work in countries where their skills could be needed.

He said the country used to rely heavily on expatriates, hence the country could exploit the same opportunity for its unemployed youth.

Further, he complained that their cattle trayed into South Africa and farmers were expected to pay heavily before getting them back.

Hence he pleaded with government to mend the broader fence as the situation could impoverish Batlokwa. ENDS