16 Feb 2020

Assistant Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry, Mr Karabo Gare says he is not aware of any Botswana Investment and Trade Centre (BITC) recruitment and selection procedures that had been breached.

Mr Gare said there was no rule book which was broken in engaging any intern, further explaining that as per BITC policy, there was an applicable monthly stipend of P1 500 paid to each temporary employee, employees on attachment and interns, and that none of those employees had been remunerated at the level of business analyst as alleged by the MP.

He noted that BITC currently has eight interns requested from the Ministry of Youth Empowerment, Sport and Culture Development, including one from the Institute of Chartered Accountants (BICA) and one temporary employee.

Those placements, he said, were aided by a memorandum of understanding signed by the centre and respective institutions to aid workplace attachments for students in line with study programme requirements among other things.

He added that BITC subjected the students to interviews to ensure that the best talent was identified and placed.

Mr Gare further noted that in the current financial year BITC had afforded 12 University of Botswana students attachments for periods ranging from three to six months, depending on the professional requirements of their specific areas of study.

He also explained that the attachments had been successfully completed during the months of October 2019 and December 2019 respectively.

The assistant minister said in the same financial year, BITC was providing job shadowing opportunities to excelling Gaborone Senior Secondary School pupils and Ikageng Junior School pupils to expose them to the formal and professional way of working.

He also said BITC had recruitment and selection procedures enshrined in its staff manual which detailed appointments of all types, including permanent and pensionable employment, contract employment, vacation employment, internships and attachments and how to resource them.

The Member of Parliament for Gaborone Bonnington South, Mr Christian Greeff had wanted to know if the minister was aware that recruitment policies at BITC had been flouted in hiring the daughter of a certain board chairman under dubious circumstances.

Mr Greeff also enquired on what would be done to remedy the situation in line with the President’s commitment and promise to root out corruption and nepotism in the public sector.

The assistant minister was also asked if he was aware that all rule books were broken in order to ensure that the said person, who was a fresh graduate, was engaged and compensated at the level of BITC officer or business analyst against all established norms and procedures.

MP Greeff also asked the assistant minister if he was aware that the said person was given preference over more deserving candidates that had been with the organisation longer and had followed the right channels of being seconded by MYSC, and when would the problem be addressed. Ends