26 Apr 2018

President Mr Mokgweetsi Masisi is on a three day retreat at Manong game lodge near Pitsane with his Cabinet ministers to share his vision and chat an agenda that seeks to raise the bar in terms of service delivery to Batswana.

Speaking on the sideline of the retreat, Minister for Presidential Affairs, Governance and Public Administration Mr Nonofo Molefhi said the event was aimed at team building, orientation of ministers on collective responsibility, clarity of roles between the political leaders and permanent secretaries among others.

Mr Molefhi said it was crucial for ministers to develop and consciously identify with policy frameworks in their respective ministries so they articulated issues to team members and the nation at large.

He said the Cabinet considered synchronising Vision 2036 and NDP11 in terms of planning, budget among others to ensure the two instruments were in line with the wishes and aspirations of Batswana.

Mr Molefhi shared that President Masisi challenged ministers, some on first appointment, to comport themselves at all times in a manner that was beyond reproach to create no room for suspicion, adding that President Masisi particularly implored them to steer clear of corruption in all its manifestations so Batswana continued to have confidence in government of the day.

With regard to service provision, Mr Molefhi said President Masisi advised them to do away with unnecessary service bottlenecks, but within the purview of the law, to ensure Batswana received reliable and predictable service.

Mr Molefhi said President Masisi also advised ministers to read and internalise the constitution and exploit it the best they could to ensure it benefited Batswana.

Meanwhile, Mr Molefhi further shared that government would carve a law on declaration of assets sometime this year.
On other issues, Mr Molefhi said Cabinet agreed to revert to the status quo in terms of overtime pay for public officers while all factors were still being considered to find a lasting solution to the issue.

Mr Molefhi said the issue of overtime had been a thorn in the flesh for government for some sometime now. He said government spent over P500 million on overtime which he said was unsustainable. He said government would establish whether or not the overtime was due to shortage of staff or nature of some jobs and come up with relevant remedies in consultation with public sector unions. Mr Molefhi has however implored accounting officers to supervise work done outside normal hours to avoid abuse.

Vision 2036 chairperson Mr Neo Moroka, Permanent Secretary to the President Mr Carter Morupisi, Directorate on Corruption and Economic Crime director Mr Bruno Paledi, Botswana Stock Exchange chief executive officer Mr Thapelo Tsheole were some of the invited guests. Ends