NACA dissolution finalized
Tefo Pheage | Thursday February 18, 2016 16:12
The decision which has left stakeholders unsettled follows a rationalisation exercise that was conducted two years ago by a special taskforce.
“NACA has now relocated to the Ministry, what we are now left with is the transitional process which will be complete in two years,” Madigele said.
He said that as the minisry they are aware of the fears by the civil society organisations that have vehemently expressed displeasure and fears about the move.
With guidance from the civil society, NACA has been able to, among others, provide strategic direction and set key priorities in the quest for lasting solutions against the epidemic; develop and support programmes and policies that can deliver on identified priorities; and develop infrastructure, tools and mechanisms used for monitoring and evaluation of progress of the national response.
Madigele said the concerns by the civil society are centered around fears and uncertainity on issues of funding. Most are concerned that under governement bureaucracy, things would not be easy as they used to be.
They further complained that they were not adequately consulted, an argument the assistant minister disputed. The civil society has also expressed worry on the ministry’s ability to coordinate and manage existing structures in the fight against HIV and AIDS.
NACA was established through a Presidential Cabinet Directive on December 14, 1999 under the Ministry of Health, was moved to the Ministry of Presidential Affairs in the early 2000s. This was when the pandemic was at its worst, threatening to wipe out the nation.
The establishment of NACA was borne out of the realisation that HIV and AIDS had not only become the most important public health challenge facing the country, it also posed the most serious challenge to Botswana’s future socio-economic development. The agency was taken under the president to facilitate funding which has been dwindling since Botswana became a middle income status country.
A taskforce that was set to ensure that the dissolution of the organisation is in order, it is understood has submitted their report.
One of their tasks was to profile NACA staff who will be integrated into the MoH. Mmegi has leant that the ministry is dealing with the challenges reflected in the report case by case.
Meanwhile the government has promised that all the NACA employees would not lose their jobs as a result.
The employees are however concerned with professional identity as some are saying they are likely to find themselves outside their area of expertise as a result of the restructuring exercise.