Court to determine US-Batswana pay dispute

Bush visit Mokolodi in Botswana 2012
Bush visit Mokolodi in Botswana 2012

A long-running dispute in which former Batswana employees are demanding close to P2 million in separation benefits from the American government is headed to the courts, the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has heard. Ministry of Foreign Affairs permanent secretary, Lapologang Lekoa told PAC on Tuesday that in February this year, the two parties in the dispute had agreed that a court should decide the matter.

 

The case has dragged on since 2007, when 16 Batswana employed by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) were retrenched. USAID has no distinct legal personality from that of the US government.  The employees decided to take the matter up with the Industrial Court, arguing that their retrenchment was unnecessary. They said that the retrenchment was procedurally unfair in that the ‘last in, first out’ rule was not followed. 

Editor's Comment
Routine child vaccination imperative

The recent Vaccination Day in Motokwe, orchestrated through collaborative efforts between UNICEF, USAID, BRCS, and the Ministry of Health, underscores a commendable stride towards fortifying child health services.The painful reality as reflected by the Ministry of Health's data regarding the decline in routine immunisation coverage since the onset of the pandemic, is a cause for concern.It underscores the urgent need to address the...

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