BDP terrorised workers in 2016

Correspondent | Friday December 23, 2016 12:11

 

The Public Service Trade Unions

The government intention of destroying the public sector trade unions is now crystal clear. The government is not doing anything to improve the labour relations but is all out to close down the unions, especially Botswana Federation of Public Sector Unions (BOFEPUSU). The award of 3 % to some government employees was a divide and rule strategy meant to erode the workers’ trust in BOFEPUSU. Prior to this, government has on several occasions made unlawful announcements on issues that were before the bargaining council. The midnight amendment of the Trade Disputes Act classifying teachers and other cadres as essential services providers was a brazen evil deed that can only be executed by demons and witches. Worse, this was against the ILO conventions which Botswana ratified, signed and domesticated.

The government is playing delaying tactics at the current sitting of the Bargaining Council, further disrespecting both domestic and international laws on the right to organise and collective bargaining. This is negotiating in bad faith. To further cut union income, the government has taken away the management of housing and vehicle schemes under UNIGEM (Pty) Ltd, a company owned by BOFEPUSU affiliates. Recently, the government moved swiftly to take away the management of the central registry which manages deduction codes of micro lenders. The central registry is managed by BOTUSAFE (Pty) Ltd, a company owned by some affiliates of BOFEPUSU. It is a matter now before the courts. It is alleged that a new company with strong links with the BDP has been awarded the business.

The leadership of BOFEPUSU has been harassed several times by the government and indications are that the government will not relent but close down BOFEPUSU and its affiliates before 2019. Members of BOFEPUSU should therefore remain united behind their leadership as their main enemy is the BDP government. The BDP government is doing everything to divide the working force and even cause conflicts amongst them. The trade unions have been infiltrated by trained government moles and stooges whose mandate is to cause confusion in the labour movement. All workers in Botswana should unite as the enemy is the BDP led government and BOFEPUSU has done a lot of ground work for them.

The Private Sector

The closure of the BCL mine was the worst decision by the BDP led government. The closure substantively means Selibe Phikwe is now a ghost town. When Batswana were busy praying on that fateful sacred Sunday, the BDP ministers drove fancy black machines to the mining town and closed it down. And the reasons for the closure were premised and characterised by lies. This should be a mind opener to all Batswana who used to trust the BDP government. The closure of the mine has not only affected Selibe Phikwe, but Mmadinare, Bobirwa, Tswapong, Palapye, Serowe, Francistown, and as a matter of fact, the national economy.

A number of parastatals go into 2017 limping. Several have put employees on retrenchment notices, while others have in fact retrenched. This is mainly due to the failure of the BDP led government to provide good leadership especially in the various Boards where some are appointed on partisan grounds over skill and expertise.

Botswana is well endowed with several natural resources and is supposed to be creating surplus jobs, especially with a population of 2 million people. The failure to create and sustain jobs is a clear indication that the BDP led government has run out of steam and ideas, and the united opposition should now take over.

Unemployed Youth

UDC has long predicted that youth unemployment will reach dangerously high levels. During the year, we saw BDP worst brutality when they called in police to sjambok, harass and arbitrarily imprison some unemployed youth for expressing lack of employment opportunities. Thousands of jobless graduates are roaming the streets, which are already saturated by rejected products of junior certificate and BGCSE. UDC and BOFEPUSU have long warned government that she is keeping time bombs. Sporadic resultant incidents have in fact been experienced at various spots like at traffic lights (bag & phone snatchings) and the recent parliamentary youth unemployment incident. A good education system is needed urgently, with a clear policy direction. The opposition has long proposed its tested education with production but BDP rejected it, while the country is fast going down the drain. It was refreshing that Manual Workers Union organised a week long Youth Empowerment Symposium in November in Gaborone where they discussed and shared valuable information. This has proven that trade unions are very important stakeholders for the government, not enemies.

The Media

While it has been mainly the public sector employees who have been facing the wrath of the BDP led government, the private media workers have slowly been subjected to the evil BDP led shenanigans. The BDP has monopolised the state media (BTV, Radio Botswana, Daily News) while opposition political parties and civil society organisations, trade unions in particular have been blacklisted and are subjected to state media blackout.

The private media is still struggling due to BDP government’s advertising ban, leading to some media houses retrenching or completely closing shop. A number of journalists have been arbitrarily imprisoned, some dragged before the courts in leg chains, intimidated and forced to write favourably about the BDP. It was only recently that two media workers from Gabz fm private radio station were first tortured by suspensions before they were summarily dismissed after the BDP had complained about them. Outsa Mokone is before the courts of law for sedition charges after the state President complained about an article in Sunday Standard. Edgar Tsimane has since sought asylum in South Africa, for the same alleged offence. Several other journalists have been victims of BDP government brutality and fury and some fired.  

While the media was still mourning the fresh demise of their colleagues, the BDP, like a vampire with a blood stained teeth, threw a lavish cocktail party for some unsuspecting journalists and danced on the victims’ graves at an uptown city restaurant. The invited media personalities literally danced and dined with the enemy. The result of that bizarre romantic night will be seen and felt in 2017, as the BDP was preparing the journalists to cover them favourably for the 2017 activities (especially bye elections) and beyond. We call upon Botswana Media and Allied Workers Union (BOMAWU) and Media Institute of Southern Africa (Botswana) to condemn this disrespectful conduct by the BDP. This is an insult to the media workers. BOMAWU exists for the protection and improvement of the working and living conditions of their members.

Khama’s SONA

In his State Of the Nation Address, President Khama dismally failed to motivate the workforce, drivers of the country’s wealth. He dedicated only 9 lines to workers’ issues which did not add any value to their working and living conditions. It is however well documented that President Khama has a pathological dislike of trade unions, hence the unfriendly laws and conditions he subjects the workers. President Khama should have proposed on how he would like to improve the general poor working and living conditions of the public service and private sector. He should have further stated how the government intends to improve the poor labour relations in this country. Under the poor labour relations, the disgruntled workforce will fail to drive the economy to prosperity.

The way forward

With the current trend of deteriorating working and living standards, workers must be more organised and united and help bring changes before the economy completely collapses. The country’s national resources are looted day and night and very soon, more Batswana in both public and private sectors will be unemployed. With the current level of looting and mismanagement, it is now crystal clear that before 2019, the Botswana economy will be grounded. The public and private sector employees should therefore stand united, or we will together perish and lose the war of emancipation.

With God’s mercy, enjoy the festive season.

JUSTIN HUNYEPA*

*Justin Hunyepa is the BNF publicity Secretary