Employees at state-owned Banyana Farms cited unsafe conditions and unfair treatment, resulting in investigations by the Ministry of Labour and Home Affairs that confirmed the allegations as valid
BONGANI MALUNGA
State-owned Banyana Farms is under scrutiny after reports alleging violations of labour laws there were subsequently corroborated by the Ministry of Labour and Home Affairs.
Employees first raised concerns over working conditions, wages and workplace safety in June this year, prompting calls for a formal investigation into practices at the farms and the government obliged by dispatching a ministerial task team.
Labour minister Pius Mokgware confirmed this in a meeting of the Goodhope Sub-District Council recently, saying a ministerial task team had paid an inspection visit to Banyana Farms and uncovered an array of unlawful practices.
No access to healthcare
The findings include irregular contracts, charges imposed on workers for ownership of donkey carts and horses and lack of access to essential health services.
Mokgware added that the findings of the ministerial task team revealed an environment that violates workers’ rights that amounts to a broader abuse of human rights.
“We uncovered situations whereby numerous workers carry out their duties without proper employment contracts,” he said. “In our plans to reform labour laws, we will ensure that every worker has a valid employment contract.
Informal arrangements
“A contract is vital for both the employer and the employee. We learnt that a lot of the workers at Banyana Farms operate under informal arrangements.”
Banyana Farms is a government ranch situated at Mabule in the Goodhope Sub-District of the Southern District. The 149 000 hectares farm was bought to promote commercial cattle farming in Botswana and has attracted over 100 investors.
In 2020, it was mired in controversy after then President Mokgweetsi Masisi won a bid to acquire a portion of the farm and opposition politicians argued that his position had given him an advantage over other bidders.