Sack them

Thabo Masalila | Friday November 29, 2019 17:43

What is known is that when President Mokgweetsi Masisi ascended to the top office, he declared himself studious of rule of law. The current war raged by the upper echelons and the executive at the rule of law, the Constitution and Batswana indicates conflict on many fronts.

This chaos takes many forms but is the works of two people. Innumerable stories have made it clear that there is a danger of being served by loyalists. Disgraced Permanent Secretary to the President (PSP) Carter Morupisi and henchman Peter Magosi are more interested in flattery, warping and limiting information received by the head of state and doing their best to prevent presidential directives from being realised.

The unbelievable degree of their essential unfitness to be PSP and Directorate of Intelligence and Security (DIS) Director General; their collective and profound immaturity, pathological selfishness and above all relentless allegations of corruption are President Masisi’s Achilles heel. But the President’s hands are tied – almost lame ducking his decision making so early in his term.

On September 2, 2019, Morupisi was suspended from duty on full pay following his appearance in court over corruption charges. Allegations of graft had been hovering like a vulture on Morupisi’s back for nearly 18 months before the court appearance. Before the introduction of the Public Service Act (PSA), workplace procedures allowed for an employee suspected of transgressions to be interdicted, during which period all benefits would cease.

Should such an employee be acquitted, their benefits would be compensated as back pays. The PSA introduced changes allowing for suspension from duty on full pay. What however the PSA does not do is impose a liability to pay monies and benefits accrued during the period of suspension, should that employee be found guilty of the offending offence.

The Industrial Court of Botswana states that a ‘pending criminal hearing has nothing to do with the holding of a disciplinary inquiry’. The onus of proof in the two forums was entirely different: at a criminal hearing the prosecution had to prove the guilt of the accused beyond a reasonable doubt whereas at a disciplinary inquiry the employer need only be satisfied on the balance of probabilities that the employee had committed the disciplinary offence.

This meant that it was possible for an employer to be found guilty of a disciplinary offence even though he had been found not guilty on the same or a similar offence by a court of law or vice versa. In the case involving Morupisi, the state required a lot more in the form of evidence than what was materially needed to pursue a disciplinary hearing.

If the state was willing to run criminal charges, which require a lot more to execute than a disciplinary hearing, why then has there been a reluctance to convene a disciplinary hearing at the workplace and charge Morupisi accordingly? Besides, a disciplinary inquiry should have been held as soon as possible to avoid the employer waiving their right by way of having delayed. But why has it not happened?

In 2015 President Muhammadu Buhari was elected on a pledge to tackle corruption. In October 2017 Buhari sacked Nigeria’s most senior civil servant after investigations into allegations of corruption. Babachir Lawal, would be the highest casualty of the anti-corruption pledge.

Investigations into Lawal’s conduct were ordered after legislators in a separate probe alleged that Lawal had inflated the value of contracts for humanitarian aid projects as part of suspected kickbacks. A panel recommended that Buhari terminate Lawal’s appointment, who denied any wrongdoing. In contrast to the Morupisi matter, the sacking preceded plans to prosecute Lawal.

In that spree to assert his stance on corruption, Buhari would also sack Ayo Oke, director general of the National Intelligence Agency in connection with the discovery of large amounts of cash in foreign and local currencies by the financial crimes agency. The discovery of $43 million in cash in a residential apartment in Lagos was investigated by the same panel that looked into the misconduct of Lawal. Both men had been on suspension since April 2017.

It is in the small things that the rot starts. A departure in doing things right results in catastrophe. Do the wrong thing once and it’s easier to do it again. What however remains the challenge is what would be of a junior officer accused of similar offences to those of Morupisi?

Morupisi has as much proven to be ineffective in the dispensing his duties as PSP. Magosi excels in displaying cluelessness about good governance. Wilhemina Maswabi has alleged that she was coerced to incriminate former spy chief Isaac Kgosi to earn her freedom. Allegations are abound that some business men under the radar of law enforcement agencies were also encouraged to lie about funding Kgosi out fear as a means of extracting evidence to convicting the former spy chief.

Magosi has introduced a new story line and the nation has become used to his outrages, viciousness and foolishness and all – and it’s worth reading another way. In year’s past, the presidency referred to the Office of the President and by extension His Honour the Vice President. Then it was revered. Today Magosi is an extension of President Masisi.

The presidency is an ad hoc group of proximal people manipulating Masisi, lying to him or preventing him from knowing the truth. Henchman Magosi’s oath of office was for the defence of the republic – but he is anything but that. The China Jiangsu Botswana was clear abuse of office. Morupisi mastered the art of gaining favour by furthering a wedge between predecessor and successor.

At the top there’s corruption. But down below there’s dismantling and disarray. President Masisi’s administration’s has a habit of firing or sidelining employees. There are numerous stories of employees doing valuable work transferred across departments, a manoeuvre that at best burdens them or renders them ineffectual.We have entered a period of immense danger in which this self-serving stupidity and ruthlessness could lead to almost anything. Do the individualistic thing once and it’s easier to do it again. But where do Magosi and Morupisi get the liver to lie from?

Surely the sophistication of a society can be measured by its tolerance to truth. Magosi and Morupisi are an embarrassment.

They should both be sacked!