Justice Letsididi judgement is commendable
Mmegi Editor | Friday August 18, 2017 11:40
If voting in a primary election is to be accepted as a proper interpretation of being an ‘active’ member under the provisions of this section, simply registering as a member or being a supporter without membership would also by the same reasoning same infringe the tenet of this provision.
The end result would be to bring about a dispensation that is so extremely unfair that it would ultimately infringe on the Constitutional right to even vote in the General election.
Such a proposition is untenable in our democracy,” said Justice Modiri Letsididi in the ruling in a case in which he cleared civil servants to vote in primary elections of political parties.
Two labour movements, the Botswana Public Employees Union (BOPEU) and the National Amalgamated Central, Local and Parastatal Manual Workers Union (NALCGPWU) had taken the then Permanent Secretary to the President (PSP), Eric Molale to Court seeking a determination on the legal interpretation of Section 5 (5) (b) of the Public Service Act No 30 of 2008.
On November 28, 2013, Molale issued a directive prohibiting all public officers from voting/participating in political party primary elections.
The two unions took issue with this directive and on January 30, 2014 they commenced proceedings against Molale. The Judge granted the applicants an order is granted in their favour. He ruled that Section 5 (5)(b) of the Public Service Act does not prohibit public officers from participating in primary elections. We have to celebrate Letsididi’s pronouncement. We also commend the judgement. This diabolic directive has been in place for many years. It is a controversial directive has resulted in many public servants fired from their jobs because they were perceived to be political.
It was increasingly used to embark in a lot of witch-hunt. Most of the time it was against suspected opposition supporters in the civil service. We wondered how voting in party primary elections impact on professionalism and service delivery?
The directive defied logic. It was especially troubling in that the directive did not apply to senior civil servants from director level and above.
It is an open secret that directors and their bosses are political appointees. This is a clear case of all animals born equal but some more equal than others.
In commending this judgement we are, however, not saying public servants should come to work rocking their party colours outfits in public offices and thereby deny customers who are not their party members services.
We are for professionalism and service delivery. We also applaud the two unions for challenging this directive. Bravo for fighting for the rights of your members.
Today’s thought
“If that was not the primary purpose of the provision then the Legislature would not in its wisdom have included the term ‘active’ but would instead have provided that political party participation is prohibited if one is a public officer.”
-Judge Modiri Letsididi