26 Mar 2018

Job creation has been described as one powerful tool that could help in addressing high unemployment that Botswana has for years now been grappling with.

Giving a keynote address at the Ministry of Employment, Labour Productivity and Skills Development inaugural excellence awards ceremony on March 23, iconic businessman and chairperson of Phakalane Estates, Mr David Magang said unemployment, particularly of the youth, had become so endemic that the situation was even depressing.

He observed that while unemployment remained alarmingly high, poverty levels had at the same time continued to grow, a co-relation that he noted was proof that the unavailability of jobs meant that many Batswana could not sustain themselves and fend for their families.

Mr Magang noted that it was thus critical for Botswana to emulate countries such as a Singapore, that despite not being well-endowed with natural resources, had gone on to  be quite successful in creating jobs for their citizens.

He said it was disappointing that with its level of wealth, Botswana still had about 16 per cent of its population living below the poverty datum line.

Mr Magang therefore implored government to consider investing heavily into the country’s human capital, saying many countries that had done so had managed to successfully turn their fortunes around.

He urged the Ministry of Employment, Labour Productivity and Skills Development to work hard towards achieving the mandate for which it had been established, pointing out that the ministry had a long journey ahead as a lot of things needed to be corrected.

He cited poor ethic among Batswana as one challenge that needed to be addressed as it impacted negatively on efforts to improve productivity.

Mr Magang said Botswana had stagnated in efforts to bring about a highly effective and productive workforce.

Further, he called for an overhaul of the country’s education system to ensure that there was no longer any skills mismatch between what institutions produced and what the economy required.

On the awards, Mr Magang commended the ministry for having seen it appropriate to acknowledge employees who were performing exceptionally well.

He said the recognition of excellence was a step in the right direction as it brought positive behavioural reinforcement, which is itself a catalyst of productivity.

He added further that the philosophy of excellence was premised on the belief that anything worth doing needed to be done diligently.

He called on the ministry’s employees to always aim to do everything well irrespective of how small or menial it may be.

The Minister of Employment, Labour Productivity and Skills Development, Mr Tshenolo Mabeo said the awards, the first ever since the ministry was set up in 2016, was an opportunity to celebrate men and women who had worked tirelessly to shape it and give it direction.

He said the awards were a way of thanking employees for their commitment to their work as well as the excellence they always strove for in the delivery of services to the ministry’s customers.

Permanent secretary, Ms Pearl Ramokoka noted that excellence was not about competing with the next person, but rather about beating one’s own standard.

Calling on officers to habitually draw strength from within, Ms Ramokoka indicated that deeply believing in what one did often resulted in great success.

She however decried the fact that some employees were in vocations that they were not passionate about, something that she said at times resulted in undesirable work results.

The awards were divided into 19 categories among which were customer service champion award, best intern award, catalyst award, creativity and innovation award, and permanent secretary’s as well as minister’s special awards. ENDS