15 Dec 2020

 Botswana Unified Revenue Services (BURS), Botswana Tourism Organisation (BTO) and Department of Tourism have been urged to investigate the wage subsidy issue in Ngamiland.

 The request was made by North West District councillors during the just ended full council session saying they had received reports to the effect that some employees had not been paid despite their employers having benefitted from the wage subsidy.

Council chairperson, Mr Kebadireetse Ntsogotlho urged the three organisations to give the issue the attention it deserved.

He said they should have systems in place to trace companies which had benefited from the wage subsidy at the expense of  retrenched workers. 

“We need a detailed report in our next full council session on the wage subsidy issue. We want to appreciate what measures had been taken to address the issue,” he added.

Mr Ntsogotlho said it was disappointing that some companies had retrenched staff and at the same time applied for the wage subsidy.

Such companies should be taken to task and asked to account for the monies they got from government, he said.

The chairperson said reports that some companies, mostly in the tourism industry, failed to pay their employees, were disturbing as that undermined government efforts to cushion workers from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Earlier, Councillor Lesedi Boy for Shakawe East had revealed that Shakawe Primary Hospital and Shakawe Treatment Plant employees were not paid accordingly and yet their employers had benefited.

He wanted to know what the relevant departments were doing to address the issue as workers, some of whom had lost their jobs,  were suffering.

Another councillor, Mr Luke Motlaleselo said there was an outcry, especially from safari company employees.

For its part, the Department of Tourism has since issued a response explaining that the wage subsidy concerning the tourism industry was wholly administered from the Ministry of Environment, Natural Resources and Tourism headquarters. 

The response indicated that subsidy to lodges was only payable if such businesses were tax compliant.  

On other issues, some councillors wanted an update on reversal of leases to trusts.

They argued that the arrangement to issue trusts with leases had not been implemented since the relevant ministry’s pronouncement that land boards would now be responsible for issuing them.

They pointed out that community trusts were struggling to generate income. 

In response, Tawana Land Board secretary, Ms Neo Mothobi said the board was still awaiting finalization of the lease documents, which were currently being revised to align them with the new Land Information System.

She appealed for patience noting that once the document had been finalized,  the land board would start signing with trusts.

Ms Mothobi pointed out that community trusts had received communication that they would be given head leases.ends