13 Apr 2026

Majority of vacancies in district councils are filled through internal advertisements because they are mostly promotional positions, Assistant Minister of Local Government and Traditional Affairs, Mr Ignatius Moswaane has said. 

Responding to a question in Parliament recently, Mr Moswaane said district councils considered internal employees for competencies and skills retention, career growth and performance recognition, as guided by the recruitment policies. He said in the absence of internal qualified staff, vacant positions were advertised externally. 

Regarding interns, Mr Moswaane noted that they form part of the graduates who were absorbed from the Botswana Labour Market Information System (LMIS) database for district councils’ entry level positions and were allocated 80 per cent quota, whereas 20 per cent was allocated for internal employees, as guided by the Directorate of Public Service Management (DPSM). 

“The 80/20 recruitment principle from the graduates’ databases, as well as, a waiver for interns and Tirelo Sechaba participants, were some of the measures in place to ensure that young professionals were not unfairly excluded from accessing district council employment opportunities,” he said. 

Member of Parliament for Kanye East, Mr Prince Mosanana, had asked the minister to explain why majority of district councils’ vacancies were filled through internal advertisements and the quota, if any, allocated for interns and Tirelo Sechaba participants, given that individuals not registered in the councils’ employment database had extremely limited chances of applying. 

Mr Mosanana also wanted to know the measures in place to ensure that young professionals were not unfairly excluded from accessing council employment opportunities. ENDS