Cash-Strapped Bamalete Hospital Staff Unpaid
Innocent Selatlhwa | Monday February 27, 2017 17:21
The Monitor can confirm that employees who usually get paid on the 23rd and 24th of each month are still without money and have been served with a memo stating that it is due to technical glitches.
“We regret to inform you that your salaries for February 2017 would be delayed due to technical problems. We are sorry for the inconvenience caused,” read the memo dated February 22.
The Monitor’s sister publication Mmegi last week reported that the hospital was said to be on its knees following the departure of a German mission years ago, which assisted the hospital financially. The hospital CEO had confirmed the dire situation, but insisted that all was under control and that employees were guaranteed of their salaries.
Mmitsi has since explained that the ‘technical problem’ is that they do not have money and are waiting for some money and will have paid the employees by Tuesday.
Even though he will not go into the details, The Monitor can confirm that the hospital has gotten a second overdraft of P4 million from First National Bank Botswana after getting the same amount in January. An impeccable source told this publication that there is a feeling amongst Board members that the Government wants to wrestle the hospital from Bamalete, hence they always faced difficulties obtaining money from Government.
Mmitsi said Bamalete’s dependence on Government and the procedures involved in securing funding sometimes affect their operations. He denied plans to transfer the hospital to Government.