The petition concerns what they term deliberate failure to take action against Botswana Life Insurance Company for fraudulent missell by the Non-Bank Financial Institutions Regulatory Authority (NBFIRA) CEO. Amongst other things, they want the minister to take action against those involved in the missell and possibly fire the NBFIRA CEO for sitting on the matter for years. BGI was formed as a result of the dissolution of the Department of Geological Survey (DGS) in 2015. At inception, the employees bemoaned BGI management and Botswana Life Insurance Company went into an agreement to establish individual retirement policies for permanent and pensionable employees of the parastatal.
According to the employees, this agreement was made without their consent and they believe they were deceived by the two parties – that they were being enrolled into a pension, with the employer contributing 15% and the employee contributing five percent, as per their contracts of employment. When the employees realised that they were made to buy individual policies under the pretext of a pension fund, they raised their concerns with both BGI and Botswana Life. After it became evident that both parties weren't owning up to the injustice, they decided to lodge a complaint with the regulator-NBFIRA. “The current CEO of BGI instituted a task team to investigate this matter after it was brought to his attention. A task team report was done, concluded, and handed to the Joint Negotiations Consultative Committee (JNCC). The report outlined a number of irregularities that transpired when this fraudulent pension fund was established. “The report shows that the employer violated the procurement processes when establishing this pension fund, resulting in a mis-procurement. No action was taken against those who were involved in this mess, instead the employer chose to defend the matter after the employees reported it to NBFIRA,” they wrote on the petition. The issues The employees state that they seek Gaolathe’s intervention in ensuring that fairness and justice prevail in the handling of an issue they have presented to NBFIRA for adjudication. They noted that despite having followed all due processes and procedures, they have experienced what they believe to be unfair treatment, or grounds of collusion as outlined below:
BGI employees stated that it has been over four years since they brought a matter before NBFIRA, which they feel should have been resolved by now, given the turnaround times publicly communicated of a maximum of 30 weeks for highly complex issues. “The matter refers to Staff Pension funds fraudulently obtained from us by Botswana Life through the assistance of our employer. The matter lies unresolved on the NBFIRA desk, despite having provided all the necessary evidence needed to conclude the matter. “The unwillingness of NBFIRA to conclude the matter raises suspicions of collusion between the said parties (BGI, BLIL, and NBFIRA) as it is evident that the three parties have had engagements on the issue in our absence, and even made decisions without our consent, on what they wanted to do with the funds obtained fraudulently from us,” they state.
They further argue that NBFIRA is aware that BLIL doesn't have a licence to operate a contributory pension fund, and when the matter was brought before them with all the evidence, they still failed to act and make a ruling. This, they say is unfair and biased, and defeats the ends of justice, as it is the employees who suffer at the end of the day. “We have made every effort to address this matter through the appropriate channels within the NBFIRA including taking it up with the Tribunal, only for it to be returned on the auspices that NBFIRA hasn't made a ruling: a decision that it still fails to take, even after being given an additional three months to do so. However, these attempts haven't yielded any results, leaving us with no option but to escalate our concerns to your esteemed office. We feel hard done,” they wrote. Pleas to Finance minister As the minister responsible for ensuring the accountability and integrity of institutions under his ministry, they want Gaolathe to intervene in the following: They want him to investigate the handling of their case by NBFIRA, and also a missell of insurance products by Botswana Life Insurance made to them and ensure applicable penalties are implemented accordingly. They also want the minister to ensure that the principles of fairness, transparency, and justice are upheld in this matter. “Ensure immediate return of our funds from Botswana Life, as well as all the accrued interests from the fraudulent arrangement. We further demand compensation for the financial implications caused by the actions of Botswana Life. They shouldn't be protected or given immunity from the Laws of Botswana at the expense of ordinary Batswana. Currently, Botswana Life Insurance continues to make profit from the funds in their possession despite the case being investigated,” they wrote.
The disgruntled employees want the minister to ensure that all those from Botswana Life and BGI who were involved in the sale of these individual insurance products to them are prosecuted, as they believe that they have committed fraud and deliberately missold them products with ulterior motives for their selfish gains. “Stern disciplinary action, including dismissal if possible, should be taken against the CEO of NBFIRA, for lack of accountability and responsibility when dealing with such a sensitive issue involving close to a hundred employees' pension funds," stated the employees. "This should be done as an example to other officers entrusted with public service offices to serve Batswana with due diligence, responsibility and accountability. We believe in the mandate and credibility of your ministry, and trust that you will give this matter the immediate urgent attention it deserves,” they wrote.
