24 Jun 2019

 Gaborone High Court judge Justice Abednego Tafa has ruled in favour of nine employees of the Ministry of Agricultural Development and Food Security who had dragged government to court contesting its refusal to pay them Remote Area Service Allowance (RASA).  

Delivering judgment on recently, Justice Tafa said the court had, after assessing the evidence brought forward by the applicants, arrived at the conclusion that Lesego Ranch near Serule, where they were stationed qualified to be categorised among areas at which government employees were entitled to receive the allowance contrary to the contention by government.

He dismissed the respondent’ submission that the ranch, being located 69 kilometres from Selebi Phikwe and 68 kilometres from Tonota, did not qualify to be categorised as remote, as an area had to be at least 150 kilometres away from the nearest supply centre to be deemed remote.

He said having carefully and repeatedly studied the evidence, the court had not come across a stipulation that for an area to be classified as remote it had to be at least 150 kilometres away from the nearest supply centre.

Rather, he said the applicants had amply demonstrated, through concrete examples, that a great number of settlements and veterinary camps that lay well below the 150 kilometre range from their respective supply centres were classified as remote and employees there were being paid RASA.

Thus, he said the decision to exclude Lesego Ranch from the category of places attracting RASA on account of its distance from the nearest supply centres was irrational and unlawful and therefore stood to be corrected.

Justice Tafa further stated that based on the applicants’ uncontroverted evidence, the court had arrived at the conclusion that the ranch fell well within the parameters of Category One of RASA-eligible areas with the greatest hardships, as among other things, there was no public transport for applicants to access the A1 Road and that they used earth or sand roads.

Further, he said there were no shops, banking facilities, educational facilities, no postal or telecommunication services as well as no health facilities of any kind at Lesego Ranch.

Granting the prayers sought by the applicants, Justice Tafa directed government to include Lesego Ranch among areas eligible for RASA.

Ordering the respondent to also pay the applicants’ cost of the application, he also directed government to pay the applicants their respective allowances with effect from April 1, 2013.

The legal action was instituted by one Monthusi Ogorogile and eight fellow employees stationed at Lesego Ranch. ENDS