14 Nov 2017

Director of Independent Counselling and Advisory services (ICAS), Dr Onalethata Johnson says the nation is plagued with substance abuse and dependency among young and old as well as the working population.

Speaking at the signing of Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) between ICAS and Botswana Substance Abuse Support Network (BOSASNet) in Gaborone recently, Dr Johnson stated that the main aim of the agreement was for the two parties to collaborate in providing substance abuse education, counselling and support to the employee wellness.

She explained that ICAS was the foremost specialist in the provision of Employee Well-being Programmes (EWP), which had been adapted to better suit the local environment whereas BOSASNet was a non-governmental organisation providing substance abuse education, prevention, and rehabilitation services to the general public.

Dr Johnson further explained that ICAS believed that their co-existence allowed them to asses and address issues affecting service delivery in a work environment as well as come up with necessary interventions thus complimenting BOSASNet’s role of curbing social ills due to substance abuse.

Therefore, she  stated that BOSASNet’s set standards and efforts of prevention and rehabilitation coupled with ICAS’s wellness programmes would provide necessary tools to enhance performance and productivity of workers in Botswana.

She also noted that according to Botswana Alcohol AIDS project report, alcohol and other drugs were rampant within the population, which led to abnormal behaviour. 

She said that depicted the need for intervention, hence ICAS and BOSASNet partnership to pull efforts towards social transformation through education and counselling individuals to curb destructive behavior patterns in workspaces.

She said the agreement provided a platform to coordinate efforts that would go towards providing psychological care and support in its holistic manner, adding that they were committed to ensuring a fruitful partnership to advance societal change eliminating attitudes and behaviour patterns that impeded the psychological well-being and productivity in workplaces.

Director of BOSASNet, Ms Prisca Mokgadi said the relationship between the two organisations did not begin with the partnership, but rather came afar, adding that their roles were more or less the same, hence complimenting each other.

She also said the partnership could not have come at a better time, adding that they were looking forward to a fruitful partnership.

She expressed gratitude, saying the partnership was not only going to expand the outreach, but rather help them grow as an organisation. BOPA