DPSM probes per diem policy abuse
Mbongeni Mguni | Tuesday June 4, 2024 14:43
The DPSM senior assistant director for the Compensation and Benefits Unit, Tshokolo Timothy, told Mmegi the conduct was “very unfortunate and regrettable”. The comments come amidst an upsurge of complaints from small hospitality players in villages and towns, that civil servants are abusing their new found buying power to force down room rates. For many small owners of lodges, bed and breakfast or guest houses, travelling civil servants comprise the lion’s share of monthly customers, helping to support the survival of these businesses. However, since government largely replaced its imprest system with a P1, 500 per night cash per diem, the hospitality players have found that some of the travelling civil servants use their collective purchasing power to demand increasingly lower rates. As the per diem includes an allocation or breakdown for accommodation, meals and an incidental, some civil servants are reportedly pushing down room rates in order to remain with spare spending cash for themselves. The per diem was introduced as a more efficient method of managing the out of office costs of public officers.
The traditional imprest system created multi-million pula backlogs as civil servants failed to properly account for, reconcile or “retire” funds used during their trips. However, the cash per diems for local travel are reportedly susceptible to abuse. “Under the current dispensation, these public officers walk into your facility and enquire about the pricing of your offerings,” an irate SME lodge owner wrote in a complaint shared with Mmegi. “They would then make it clear to you that they are willing to pay P300.00 or P400.00 for accommodation and if the facility does not yield to their demands, they would leave and go from one facility to another until they get away with their ridiculous and selfish demands. “What motivates them to act this way, is that they are in possession of funds that are not accounted for or retired. “Therefore, they will stop at nothing to ensure that they make savings out of this per diem. “Remember that the environment has been made conducive for this kind of conduct by policy makers as there is no accountability required,” the lodge owner added. The lodge owner, who has requested anonymity, said the situation lends itself to the growth of illegal hospitality operators who cater for the lower rates demanded, but compromise standards, health and safety. The situation is also adversely impacting SME operators’ ability to service their bank loans and other obligations with lenders such as CEDA.
“Contrary to the good intentions of this local per diem policy, which is aiming at boosting the local hospitality sector and to bring efficiency in the administration of travel by government employees, the employees are now on the rampage exploiting the current form of this policy. “If the practice by public officers articulated is not nipped in the bud instantaneously, there will be a risk of job losses by those employed by the sector. “The creditors such as CEDA and commercial banks would threaten foreclosures to the operators of the lodging establishments leaving a negative impact on the economic outlook,” the complainant wrote. Another hospitality operator told Mmegi that some civil servants even opted to sleep in their vehicles when they were unable to force down room rates. The practice means the lodge owners lose business and the civil servants are exposed to safety issues. “All small hospitality businesses in and around the country are struggling,” he said. “Staff on business trips are sleeping mo dikoloing and asking for cheap prices, forcing prices to drop suddenly. “The pain is that some of these businesses are government-funded through bo CEDA and they created employment in the rural areas,” he added.
The DPSM said it had received complaints on the situation and would act. “Yes, the DPSM is aware of the complaints and they will be addressed in due time,” Timothy said. “What must be noted is that, local per diem is a new facility in the Public Service. It was introduced to be applicable only in conditions where the current imprest facility is not applicable, as an alternative option. “As with all things new, the Directorate will continue to monitor the implementation of the local per diem, amendments and additional controls made as and when necessary,” Timothy highlighted. Affected hospitality owners, meanwhile, are asking that government discontinue the per diem and plug its loopholes before reintroducing it. They also want the Department of Tourism and the Botswana Tourism Organisation to be consulted before the per diem is reintroduction.