Botswana Unified Local Government Service Association (BULGSA) has charged that Botswana is under pressure to privatise its public enterprises because of agreements with the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF).

BULGSA secretary general Motelebane Motelebane claimed it was an open secret that a number of public enterprises in Botswana are generally performing well as President Festus Mogae indicated in his State of the Nation Address.

He charged that the position of BULGSA on privatisation is that it is profit-driven and against all principles of social justice, adding that the association is in the process of collecting more relevant information to further consolidate its anti-privatisation position.

Motelebane said: "It is not in our knowledge whether Botswana has signed World Trade Organisation General Agreements on Trade Services (GATS) or not. However, it is clear that Botswana is privatising because of the notion that the private sector is more effective and efficient than the public sector. Usually countries privatise their public enterprises because of the belief that privatisation will make them more efficient and improve the economy of the country," he said.

Motelebane charged that the agreement those countries enter into with the World Bank and the IMF forces them to privatise their public enterprises, including utilities such as water.

He said that in some third world countries, privatisation happens because the countries signed the GATS, which insists on the handing over of public enterprises to the private sector.

He feared that when public enterprises are privatised, whether it is through commercialisation, out contracting/outsourcing or simply 100 per cent privatisation, the plight of the workers is left in jeopardy with many of them losing employment.

"So privatisation increases unemployment and poverty. It encourages the creation of a few rich citizens at the expense of a majority of poor citizens. It enriches foreign multi-national corporations at the expense of the locals.

It does not necessarily ensure quality services. Worse of all, it puts the control of national resources in the hands of multi-national corporations and a handful of privileged citizens."

Motelebane pointed out that the association perceives its unionisation as the key to effective representation of members through the process of collective bargaining.

He said that some of the achievements attained to score that goal include holding workshops on unionisation, adoption of working class ideology and finalisation of the Botswana Local Authorities Workers' Union (BLAWU).

Motelebane said that BULGSA would strive to foster a commitment within its members to the productivity and quality movement in the country. During the year, BULGSA suffered a set back when it failed to establish a governing council, despite efforts been made to construct a Vision 2004 Strategic Plan through a number of avenues.

He added: "Although there have been some achievements of the goals of the Vision 2004, efforts to do so were not intense, focussed and systematic as would have been the case had there been a strategic plan to guide action."

He urged members to decide on when and how another vision should be constructed that would guide the association for the next five years.