10 Nov 2017

Parliament has been told that reviewing of salaries and conditions of service for the Botswana Defence Force (BDF), Botswana Police Service (BPS) and Botswana Prisons Service was still under consideration against the rest of the public service.

Answering a questions in Parliament from MP for Gaborone North, Mr Haskins Nkaigwa, Minister of Defence, Justice and Security, Mr Shaw Kgathi said it was imperative for government to look at the salaries and conditions of service in totality in the interest of equity and balance between members of the disciplined forces and the rest of the public service.

He however noted that the process of reviewing the salaries and conditions of the entire public service, including the BDF, BPS and the Prisons had been set back by competing priorities and demands in the public coffers.

He said over and above, the current economic challenges as highlighted in the 2018/19 Botswana Budget Strategy document presented by the Minister of Finance and Economic Development at this year’s Budget Pitso, has further set back the review process.

Notwithstanding, Minister Kgathi said in 2015, government introduced a number of benefits for the BDF, BPS and Prisons Department in the form of an X-factor for the members of the BDF; and also increased the threshold for commuted allowance for members of the BPS and the Prisons department with a view to mitigate some of the conditions under which the disciplined forces work.

Further, Mr Kgathi said the reviewing of the BDF Act and the BPS Act would address some of the obvious shortcomings identified over the years with respect to their conditions of service such as early retirement and low pension threshold.

He highlighted that sharing of accommodation by married couples was a concern and its elimination was of priority to government.

He explained that strategies for addressing accommodation challenges entailed construction, leasing and acquisition of housing units for the BDF, BPS and the Prisons.

For the BDF, Minister Kgathi said the problem would be resolved  through the construction of 680 accommodation units in various BDF camps, completion of Rakhuna Camp, construction of Ghanzi Garrison in NDP 11, procurement of 200 units in Francistown and Gaborone, and leasing of houses from Botswana Housing Corporation (BHC) and the private sector.

The minister explained that the problem would be solved by the construction of police houses in Gaborone Block 10, Molapowabojang and Mmadinare, the construction of police stations in Mmathubudukwane, Semolale and Maitengwe as well as the recent purchased housing units at Maruapula would also provide relief for housing accommodation congestion affecting the Botswana Police Service.

Regarding Prisons, Mr Kgathi said the procurement of housing units from BHC in Gaborone and Francistown as well as the refurbishment of existing housing units in Gaborone and Francistown would also relieve officers of shared accommodation by married couples.

Minister Kgathi said the BDF commuted allowance had not been reviewed since its introduction, but would form part of the overall review of the salaries and conditions of service of the BDF.

The minister further explained that the housing allowance for all members of the BDF, irrespective of rank, who reside outside the barracks in their own privately rented accommodation was 15 per cent of one’s basic salary.

He said the BDF Maintenance Unit was continuously attending to maintenance and refurbishment required for the junior barracks ablution facilities.

In addition, Minister Kgathi said an ITT was being floated to outsource some of the more demanding maintenance works and renovations, and the contract was expected to be in place by early 2018/19 financial year.

MP Nkaigwa had asked the Minister to explain what was being done to improve the conditions of service for members of the BDF and the BPS.

He had also wanted to know if it was morally right for married couples to share accommodation and what was being done to address the situation.

The legislator had also wanted the minister to state when the commuted allowance of members of the BDF would be reviewed and when it was last reviewed.

 He had also wanted the minister to further state the amount of housing allowance given to junior officers residing outside the barracks; and what was being done to renovate the ablution facilities at junior officers barracks as they were in a bad state. ENDS