09 Jul 2019

The Ministry of Finance and Economic Development has employed 12 people living with  disabilities of various impairments on permanent and pensionable.

Answering a question in Parliament, Minister of Finance and Economic Development Mr Kenneth Matambo said one has albinism and one has hearing impairment.

He said Bank of Botswana(BOB) has six employees living with disability and none with albinism while Motor Vehicle Accident Fund (MVA), has two employees living with disability.

Mr Matambo said Botswana Stock Exchange, Public Procurement and Asset Disposable Board (PPADB), Non-Banking Financial Institutions Regulatory Authority,(NBFIRA) Botswana Accountancy Oversight Authority(BAOA), National Development Bank(NDB) Botswana Institute for Development Policy Analysis (BIDPA) and Botswana Savings Bank (BSB) have no employees living with disability or albinism.

Government recruitment policy, he said does not discriminate any person from being employed on the basis of their disability.

Furthermore, he said the number of people employed was ‘indeed in line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals No.8, which deals with work and economic growth by 2030, to promote inclusive and sustainable economic growth, employment and decent work for all’. The SDG, he said targets and indicators were measured at national level and not at institutional level and were expected to be attained by 2030 adding that interventions would be reviewed during NDP 11 and 12 to ensure compliance.

Specially elected MP, Mephato Reatile had asked the minister to state how many people living with albinism and other disabilities were employed under his ministry and by Statistics Botswana, Botswana Stock Exchange (BSE),BOB, PPADB, NBFIRA, BAOA, NDB, MVA, BIDPA and BSB.

Mr Reatile further wanted the minister to provide the breakdown by date of employment and gender, if the number of people employed meet the country’s target of the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) No. 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth by 2030, to promote inclusive and sustainable economic growth, employment and decent work for all. ENDS