Moeng College Teachers Forfeit RASA Allowances

Monkagedi Gaothobogwe | Monday October 24, 2016 15:49

In 2011 a saving gram declared the area  from the  disease control gate west of Ratholo village, up to Moeng college a RASA area, immediately earning all public officers serving there the RASA allowances.

It would seem however that only teachers have been affected by the discontinuation of the  RASA allowances, as  officers stationed at the  Ratholo gate continue to earn the RASA up to now, a development that has irked the teachers in the area.

A 2014 court case filed on their behalf by  the Botswana Sectors of educators Trade Union(BOSETU) is yet to be heard, and the teachers are feeling the brunt of  the deductions.

The teachers in Ratholo and Moeng areas  argue that  since they paid taxes based on their RASA allowances,  they are owed tax refunds for the period, but  such refunds have not been effected.

They also feel that they genuinely deserve  the RASA alloances that was duely communicated to them via a savinggram. On Thursday last week  the BOSETU Secretary General and the Vice Secretary General Tobokani Rari and Innocent Mannathoko respectively  were  at Moeng College over the matter.

Speaking at the end of  his meeting with the Moeng College teachers, Rari told the Monitor the teachers at Moeng College and the union have always contended that the verbal retraction of the savingram was unlawful moreso that the allowance was only taken away from teachers but not from other officers especially those based at veterinary gate at Ratholo.

“We have assured our  members at Moeng Colege that the Union is handling the issue of RASA.  We have  engaged the Ministry of Education over the RASA deductions that are inclusive of tax as tax was deducted when RASA was accorded to them”.

According to Rari the teachers were informed that the Ministry of Education has written BURS to ask them to remit the deducted tax back to the Ministry to pay back the teachers. It was further explained by the BOSETU officials  that the union is litigating on the issue of the legality of taking back the RASA from Moeng teachers.

On shortage of accommodation for the teachers there  Rari says the Union  is engaging the Ministry of education to implement the savingram that was authored sometime in 2012 stating that teachers would be allowed to look for private accommodation in towns and villages where they are based and would be subsidized by government. “The said savingram is currently gathering dust and the union is committed to vigorously pursue its implementation”