BTU extra-ordinary congress billed for July 23

CHAKALISA DUBE
Staff Writer | Friday June 7, 2013 00:00

'The congress may be held in Mmadinare or Mogoditshane village. We will make an official announcement on the venue next week. This is meant to allow the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) the opportunity to get us a returning officer (in either Mmadinare or Mogoditshane) who will coordinate the elections on time,' Tidimalo Maeletso, BTU spokesperson said yesterday.

He said nominees for the union's executive elections will then have to submit their applications to the returning officer a month before the polls. 'This means that by June 23 applications for those who want to contest the elections will have been closed,' he said.The leadership of the union decided the date of congress at a closed door meeting here last Saturday. The union was forced to call a special congress after its elective congress aborted under controversial circumstances in April. At the aborted April meet, the BTU elections nominees submitted their applications to regional offices instead of the returning officer coordinating the polls as per the constitution. 'The amended constitution, which led to the halting of the April congress, has been properly registered, Maeletso said. The elective congress, which is held every three years, was abandoned by members in April this year because the union had not properly registered the newly amended constitution. Although the constitution was registered more than six months ago, the union had not paid a fee required by the Labour Department to make the constitution authoritative.

The elections were deferred for fear that losing nominees may contest the constitutionality of the elections at the courts. Interestingly, three union members made an urgent application at the high court here during the April congress, demanding that the elections be held as it was the mandate of the congress. Donald Basupi who at the time was said to be interested in contesting the position of publicity secretary, Mompati Onkabetse who was interested in the position of treasurer and Tshepo Gaadise, later withdrew the case.