After winning a fourth term in 2020, he hinted at the possibility of quitting at the end of his term. But this week, Rari said that he will seek another term as the secretary-general because he has not fulfilled some of the promises he made in 2020.
BOSETU national executive committee (NATEX) elections will be held on August 31, 2024.
Members who are interested in contesting the elections are to have submitted their names for nomination before the end of April. “Following a thorough consultation with union leadership, my confidantes, some union structures, advisors, some stakeholders and my family, a decision was taken that the cadre deployment structures that I contest yet again for the post of secretary-general of BOSETU,” he told Mmegi this week.
Rari explained that in his fifth term, he wants to intensify the union’s recruitment drive, targeting 25, 000 members by 2025, enhance membership education on the importance of trade unionism, services provided by the union and coming up with new initiatives. “Trade union roles have transcended beyond the traditional roles of representation. Unions are now entering the realm of membership beneficiation, that is where we are taking the union to,” he said. “Building strong bargaining institutions will also be my priority. Both our national and sectoral structures are weak. We should move away from consultative makeshift structures to permanent bargaining structures.” Rari believes that he has done very well as the secretary-general of the union. He revealed that when he took over in 2011, the membership was close to 7, 000 and now the unions boast close to 22, 000 members.
“This is indicative that BOSETU is a union that is experiencing phenomenal growth under my steward as the SG {secretary-general}, being the chief administrator and the chief political shop steward of the union. “This growth can only be attributed to a distinguished leadership of the movement bearing in mind that the union was formed only in 1987, being one of the youngest unions in Botswana,” he added.
Rari, who has been under pressure from some members who want him to step down because they believe he has overstayed, noted that under him, BOSETU as an institution has managed to establish businesses that have helped the union to generate income while offering market rate services to members. Some of the companies that BOSETU owns are a micro-lending company, a funeral scheme and mortuary amongst others. “My voice as the SG of the union has remained consistently high, advocating for members. BOSETU under my leadership has built robust industrial relations structures of the union, both politically and administratively that handles member grievances at the workplace.
“Through this structure we have seen about 95% success rate in member representation during grievances.
This is a mandate directly overseen by the SG,” he said. Rari’s decision is likely to be met with resistance from some cadres although there is narrative that he is still a highly respected figure within the union. There are those who still maintain that he has overstayed and should pave way for others to take over the reins.
Previously, some union members took him to court arguing that he deliberately altered a constitutional clause, resulting in the fabrication of a resolution during a national congress in 2014, to prolong his stay as the secretary-general. In response, Rari filed a counter application with the court, seeking to nullify the writ of summons issued by the aggrieved individuals, deeming it irregular and improper. He cited Order 61, Rule 8 of the High Court rules, which he contended the quartet violated. The rule stipulates that when contesting a decision, one must initiate review proceedings within four months. The court ruled in favour of Rari.
