Speaking at an induction for interns organised by the Department of National Internship Programme in Gaborone yesterday, a pilot (name withheld) on internship with a local company, complained that he spends his working time "supervising drivers and answering calls, yet "I was trained to be a pilot". Imagine. Worse still my commercial flying licence expires next month. This happens when you spend the whole 12 months without flying. This means I will have to go back to flying school and renew and this costs P15,000," he said. Information reaching Mmegi is that on average, government spends about P500,000 to train a high school leaver into a licensed pilot. However, the pilot told the audience that there are many Batswana pilots roaming the streets yet these companies prefer to hire foreigners. He said a certain company (name withheld) has 33 pilots, of which only three are Batswana.
"We have spoken to the Ministry of Labour and Home Affairs to demand how come you continue to issue work permits to these foreign pilots whilst we are here, unemployed. We should be getting employed there. I understand that is what localisation is all about," he said.
