Retrenchment looming at BUAN

SONNY SERITE

Scores of employees at Botswana University of Agriculture and Natural Resources (BUAN) will soon roam the streets as the university intensifies its retrenchment, rendering many employees jobless by the Christmas holidays.
The Botswana Gazette is in possession of the university’s internal communication which indicates that BUAN will implement the new pay structure for Deans, Heads of Department, Directors, Managers and academic staff effective 1st September. The implementation of a new pay structure does not extend to support staff and instead, they will be given letters from between 17 to 21 September calling on them to enter into voluntary retrenchment. September 30th has been set as the date when the University will forcefully retrench those who are no longer needed but have not opted for the voluntary exit.
The university management called a staff meeting on June 26 where the resolutions of the BUAN Council were shared. Staff were advised at the meeting that the positions of Vice Chancellor and Deputy Vice Chancellor will be advertised externally while Deans and Directors will first be advertised internally. The new Vice Chancellor is expected to take over in the first quarter of 2019.
BUAN was established in 2015 after Parliament passed the Botswana University of Agriculture and Natural Resources (BUAN) Act, which transformed the Botswana College of Agriculture (BCA) into a fully-fledged university. Government has allocated P385 million towards its expansion as it transformed into a fully-fledged university.