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Botswana: Physiotherapists Join Scarce Skills Fray
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Mmegi/The Reporter (Gaborone)
17 April 2008
Posted to the web 17 April 2008
Thato Chwaane
Physiotherapists have joined nurses and other professionals to register their protest over the scarce skills allowance announced by government recently.
Though the physiotherapists were included in the allowance, they are at the bottom of the ladder. They now question what 'scarce skill' is and argue that there has been a discrepancy.
A physiotherapist who spoke anonymously said the government clinical service has only 30 percent of staff needed in this fielded. "What about the 70 percent? If this is not scarce skills then what is it?" he questioned.
He said that with the huge investment put into sending students to study physiotherapy, it is surprising the government does not want to pay professionals in the field well. Botswana is said to be spending at least P2.3 million to train one physiotherapist.
A Presidential Directive stated recently that government has decided to approve as a transitional measure a variable temporary retention/scarce skills allowance of not more than 40 percent of the basic salary to certain professions.
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Medical doctors and dentists are among those leading the pack with the 40 percent, while physiotherapists are down at the bottom with 15 percent. A year ago, students studying physiotherapy overseas who were threatening not to come back home were quoted in Mmegi stating that "physiotherapy is marketable worldwide, and the low salary scale makes working in Botswana unattractive". The students at the time said that it is the lack of equity among health professions in the Ministry of Health, which kept most of them overseas.
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