The Manual Workers Union alleges that centralising recruitment for 367 gardener and cleaner posts could be intended to reward UDC activists, a claim DPSM has not answered.
SESUPO RANTSIMAKO
The Manual Workers Union has accused the Directorate of Public Service Management (DPSM) of centralising recruitment for gardeners and cleaners in a move it alleges could be intended to reward activists who campaigned for the Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) in the 2024 general elections.
Centralisation Questioned
Addressing the media this week, the union’s Deputy Chief Executive Officer Robert Rabasimane questioned why recruitment for A3 positions had been centralised at DPSM when, according to the union, Government’s decentralisation policy had previously delegated such recruitment powers to districts.
Rabasimane said lower-level positions were deliberately decentralised because workers in these categories earn relatively low salaries and should therefore be recruited within their local communities.
He argued that local recruitment reduces the burden of rental and transport costs associated with taking up work far from home.
“Why has DPSM today centralised A3 positions?” Rabasimane asked.
Patronage Claim
Rabasimane said the union had received information suggesting that the decision was linked to an alleged plan to reward UDC activists who campaigned for the party before the 2024 elections.
“The information we got is that the Government wants to reward the UDC activists with these positions,” he said.
The union has called for recruitment powers to be returned to districts in line with what it says is the existing decentralisation policy.
“We warned the DPSM to delegate these positions back to districts as per the decentralisation policy for local empowerment of our communities,” Rabasimane said.
367 Posts
The dispute comes as DPSM has advertised 74 gardener positions and 293 cleaner positions, bringing the total to 367 posts.
Rabasimane said that if centralisation was the result of an administrative oversight rather than a deliberate policy decision, DPSM should correct it and return recruitment to the districts.
“If it’s an omission or oversight, the DPSM should return this as it has been the norm,” he said.
DPSM Silent
At the time of going to press, efforts to obtain comment from DPSM director Gaone Macholo were unsuccessful because her phone was unreachable.
The union’s allegation remains unproven, and DPSM has not publicly answered the claim in the material provided to The Botswana Gazette.