13 Aug 2013

Red East Construction Company, a Chinese company that has been contracted to build a shopping complex in Kanye, has a total workforce of 86, the Minister of Labour and Home Affairs, Mr Edwin Batshu has told Parliament.

Responding to a question, Minister Batshu said the company had employed 77 Batswana and nine Chinese nationals to complete the project known as Southern District Shopping Complex, located at the village’s main bus rank.

The minister pointed out that 57 employees were recruited in Kanye, and out of this number, 44 originated from the Bangwaketse capital, thereby dismissing concerns that the company did not employ local job seekers because it had brought its own workforce.

He said the revised policy on Incomes, Employment, Prices and profits of 2005 provides that for all job opportunities in Botswana, priority must first be given to Batswana. As a result, he said his ministry would continue to encourage employers to employ Batswana, and not only those from the locality of the project.

He indicated that the nature of construction work is such that construction companies move from one project and locality to another. “In many instances, such companies move around with some of their core employees,” he expalined.

In this case, minister Batshu said Red East Construction Company moved to the Kanye project with 30 employees due to the skills and knowledge that the company imparted to them. The minister was responding to a question by Kanye South Member of Parliament, Mr Abram Kesupile.

The MP had asked the minister if he was aware of people’s concerns regarding the reluctance of the company contracted to build the Southern District shopping complex at the main bus rank to employ job seekers from Kanye, but instead brought its own workforce.

If so, he had also wanted to know how many people presently made up the total work force and to also state the number of people drawn from Kanye. Mr Kesupile had also asked the minister what he would do to ensure that some job seekers resident in Kanye benefit from large construction projects that come to the village. Ends