New broom takes over as BHCTTWU president
Lebogang Mosikare | Monday December 20, 2021 06:00
Digapeng was elected as BHCTTWU’s president during its elective congress that was held on December 11, 2021 in Palapye.
Digapeng’s win means that a trident of women in Masego Mogwera of Botswana Public Employees Union(BOPEU), and Martha Molema of the Trainers and Allied Workers Union (TAWU), who is also the president of Botswana Federation of Trade Unions (BFTU), are presidents of their respective unions.
The new kid on the block told Mmegi that although she was already a member of BHCTTWU since 2008, she decided to slug it out for leadership positions within the union after she was approached by some of her co-workers to do so.
Digapeng used the proverb, “no one knows where the shoe pinches, but he who wears it”, to clarify why she joined BHCTTWU.
Although Digapeng explained that she never had any work-related problems with her employers, she said that some of her workmates and colleagues in the tourism industry told her how they were ill-treated by their employers which prompted her to fight for their cause.
“My colleagues told me that because I was naturally a vocal person, I was better placed to fight for their employment rights and welfare if I was in a position of leadership within BHCTTWU. I accepted their call and the rest is history,” Digapeng proudly said.
Asked if any males were competing against her for the leadership of BHCTTWU, Digapeng said: “My only competitor for the presidency was a male who was the vice president of BHCTTWU before the Palapye elective congress but I managed to prevail. Although I was initially afraid to compete against a man because it is a popularly known fact in Botswana that males usually prevail against females in various areas, I have total trust in my capabilities and I defied the odds.”
Probed if her age was not going to be one of her undoing because some delegates were probably thinking that she was immature unlike her competitor who also had the advantage of experience than her amongst other reasons, Digapeng stood her ground: “I have too much trust in my capabilities. I strongly believe that women can match men pound for pound in any sphere.”
The store clerk at Cresta Mowana Safari Resort and Spa in Kasane, who is also armed with a certificate in Hospitality, Travel and Tourism from Career Dreams Centre, added: “Gender should never be used as a disability. It is high time that there is a mind set change in Botswana because some women can be better leaders than males. It is also possible that if Botswana may have a woman as its president in future, the woman may take the development trajectory of this country to a higher level than all the male presidents that the country has had so far.”
Digapeng, who also dabbles as the secretary general for youth and culture at Botswana Federation of Public Private and Parastatal Sector Unions (BOFEPUSU), also noted that another factor which worked in her favour was the fact that when she vied for the presidency of BHCTTWU, she already knew that its membership was mostly made up by the youth. “That on its own was a plus for me because people who are within my age range can better understand what I stand for better than older ones. When I address my age mates, there is no language barrier as opposed to when I campaign for votes from elders hence they (youth) entrusted me with the responsibility of leading their union. However, I am the leader of all BHCTTWU members and I have pledged to serve them efficiently and equally regardless of their age,” said a resolute Digapeng.
Digapeng, however, expressed concern that while the tourism industry is second to mining in terms of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in Botswana, the welfare created by tourism entities has not trickled down to workers.
“Some entities in the tourism sector don’t have the welfare of their workers at heart. They are mostly interested in generating profit at the expense of the welfare of their employees. Some of them also intimidate workers who have joined BHCTTWU. We have had instances whereby our shop stewards have recruited workers to join BHCTTWU. However, when the shop stewards contact those workers after they leave workstations, the newly recruited employees inform the shop stewards that they have taken decisions to withdraw their memberships. When we make follow-ups about why there was a sudden change of heart, the workers tell us that they were intimidated by their employers,” a worried Digapeng lamented.
Digapeng also decried that after the government introduced the wage subsidy scheme that was meant to cushion workers in the private sector from the disastrous effects of COVID-19, some tourism establishments did not honoured the government's promise of giving the money to their workers.
“As the new leadership of BHCTTWU, we will vigorously fight for the welfare of our members. We have pledged to fight all the injustices that they are currently experiencing. We will not rest on our laurels until their problems are addressed. We are continuing where our predecessors left. The fight will not be over until it is won. These bad practices that prioritise profits over the welfare of workers should come to an immediate stop,” said Digapeng.
Digapeng added that the failure by some entities to pay the government wage subsidy has created a climate of fear for workers. “Employees are threatened with dismissals whenever they claim what is rightly theirs from their employers. We have discovered that this evil practice is mostly rampant in some tourism entities who prioritise raking in payments in foreign currency rather than the local currency. What is surprising about these tourism outfits is that before the outbreak of coronavirus in Botswana, they wanted locals who wanted to utilise their establishments to pay in US dollars. They even told local tourists that if they want to book their establishments they can do so in South Africa using US dollars. It is now surprising that because few foreign tourists are coming to Botswana, these tourism entities are unjustly refusing to pay their workers what is rightly theirs. We are going to fight all these injustices,” a spirited Digapeng vowed
Digapeng also stated about 250 BHCTTWU members were retrenched from their jobs in the aftermath of COVID-19. While the idiom, “dynamite comes in small packages”, succinctly summarises the zeal that Digapeng has to address the various concerns of her comrades in struggle, the jury is out because she does not have more than two weeks in office.