14 Apr 2021

The rational for the Lekalake Dispensation at the University of Botswana was to allow for academic staff to be promoted to senior positions despite there being no vacant position to be promoted into.

The Minister of Tertiary Education, Research, Science and Technology, Dr Douglas Letsholathebe said such promotion was done provided it did not add more than five per cent to the department’s recurrent expenditure.

Answering a question in Parliament on Tuesday, Minister Letsholathebe said departmental establishments were still linked to the budget and therefore any promotion had implications for availability of funding especially when made without a vacant position budgeted for.

Dr Letsholathebe said the University of Botswana recognised that academic staff needed to be recognised in terms or rank through promotions when they had done the required teaching, research and publications and services that qualify them to be promoted to the various ranks.

Parliament also heard that the Lekalake dispensation was later reworked into the Revised University of Botswana General conditions of 2015 as section 6.1 under promotions.

He also quoted the section which reads, ‘promotion to senior position is normally dependent upon there being a vacancy, and will not be automatic upon the attainment of any qualifications, or through length of service, number of publications, or upon reaching the top of a salary scale.

However, promotion to a senior academic rank may be permitted for employees within the approved departmental establishment, provided that such promotion does not result in an increase in the departmental establishment or in the department budget being exceeded by more than five per cent.”

Dr Letsholathebe explained that Section 6.1 of University of Botswana General conditions of service of 2015 had been fully implemented and had benefitted many academic staff who were promoted to senior positions even though there were no vacant positions to which staff could be promoted to.

The main challenge faced by the university, he said, was that there were many senior people than the senior positions in the establishment of most departments. “Such positions had to be rationalised especially when contracts of some non-citizens expired,” he added.

In addition, he said given the increased number of citizens at those positions, some non-citizens contracts were not renewed as part of that rationalisation and to contain costs.

In the past five years, the minister said, academic staff retiring did not get post retirement contracts as a way of normalising the establishments.

He also explained that the Lekalake dispensation as concept was implemented by some of other public universities such as the Botswana International University of Science and Technology (BIUST), Botswana University of Agriculture and Natural Resources whereby a budget limit for departments should not be exceeded by more than five per cent.

Those other universities, he said, had adopted the concept into the General Conditions of Service or Policy and Procedures manual where academic staff members would be promoted to full Professor level provided they met the requirements for that level, based on manpower budget, vacancy and on performance basis.

Furthermore, he explained that  the Lekalake Dispensation was a 1988 policy dispensation that emanated from a Report of the Review of the Terms and Conditions of Service of the various grades of university staff that was chaired by a Council member, Mr L. Lekalake.

Selebi-Phikwe West MP, Mr Dithapelo Keorapetse had asked the minister if he fully understood and appreciated the importance of the Lekalake Dispensation at the University of Botswana.

Mr Keorapetse also wanted the minister to explain what the dispensation was about, its origin and rationale, whether or not it was fully implemented and if not an explanation be made as to why not and if so Parliament be updated on its implementation in the last five years and challenges encountered and remedies.

The minister was also to state whether or not the dispensation was implemented at other public universities. ENDS