16 Mar 2014

Botswana Meat Commission (BMC) is not up for sale and farmers will continue selling their cattle at the abattoir, says President Lt Gen. Seretse Khama Ian Khama.

Addressing a kgotla meeting in Molapowabojang last Thursday, March 13, President Khama said selling the abattoir would be regressive and would cripple cattle farmers and some businesses around the abattoir.

President Khama, however, noted that some companies had showed interest in partnering with BMC. He said that would not happen because the government has realised that the partnership would affect the beef industry in the country.

Furthermore, President also said there were some local cattle farmers who had appealed to the government to let them open private abattoirs to compete with BMC.  “We need to tread carefully in handling the issue because competing abattoirs might also negatively affect BMC,” President Khama said.

President Khama said after realising that the commission was embroiled in maladministration, the government intervened by employing  Dr Akolang Tombale as the new chief executive officer. 

President Khama expressed confidence in Dr Tombale, saying he has executed his duties diligently. Residents had expressed fear over allegations that BMC was up for sale.

Still in Molapowabojang, President Khama met with public officers in the Ngwaketse South constituency to appreciate the challenges they were faced with.

He said the government has realised that there was a need to look into the conditions of service for public officers such as progression, increase in RASA allowance and mileage claims.

President Khama said progression within the civil service should not be determined by qualifications only, but should also be determined by an employee’s experience and performance.

With regard to education, President Khama said following the poor examination results this year, he dispatched cabinet ministers to schools countrywide to conduct inspections so as to identify problems prevailing in schools.

“The first report presented to cabinet recently has revealed that the situation at schools is totally unacceptable,” said President Khama.

He emphasised the importance of maintenance at schools and highlighted that every school was given P10 000 for maintenance.

The amount, he said, was not limited because schools could request for additional funds.

President Khama noted that the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development has been allocated P220 million for the backlog eradication programme. He said the programme was halted due to the global economic recession that hit the country in 2008.

Public officers had earlier presented to the President a series of challenges that hinder their productivity and consequently affect service delivery.

They cited challenges such as lack of transport, shortage of accommodation and lack of progression among others. ENDS