16 July 2009
Francistown — The civil service is in turmoil, especially in the lower ranks where officers say their pleas for help have been falling on deaf ears.
Tired of being ignored, the officers have taken to visiting newspaper offices in a bid to drive their "enough is enough" message home.
A group of Prevention of Mother To Child Transmission (PMTCT) of HIV/AIDS lay counsellors at council clinics stormed Mmegi offices saying they are being given a raw deal despite repeated appeals even though they are at the forefront of Botswana's battle against HIV/AIDS.
What the PMTCT lay counsellors, whose mandate is to prepare pregnant mothers to accept their results in the event they are diagnosed as HIV positive, are appealing for is to be properly remunerated by their employer and given benefits that are offered other government employees.
The lay counsellors, who trooped to Mmegi offices and spoke on condition of anonymity, said their workload is so huge they no longer have enough time for their families.
"The problem is that we are paid only P1 300 per month. What are we supposed to do with that kind of money?
Some of us have got children and dependants, and yet we are paid so little," said the fed-up counselor, who added that for a majority of them, it is now only a labour of love that sees them going to work every morning.
Besides the salary, they are also not happy about their employment, which says they are governed by the general orders, which govern all government employees, and yet they (the lay counselors) do not reap the benefits that go with being a civil servant.
"We have to look for our own accommodation and we have got no allowances that are enjoyed by other government employees.
We have been calling on our superiors at the Ministry of Health to assist us, but are all unresponsive," said the counselor.
PMTCT has been a hailed as a success story for Botswana where presently up to 95 percent of children born of HIV positive mothers are free from the disease.
The PMTCT counsellors have been commended for the success as they provide not only counselling in the event a pregnant mother is about to be tested or has just been tested.
They also provide information and long-term education about the disease.
The regional PMTCT coordinator in Francistown was in Gaborone attending a workshop when Mmegi called, according to an official who picked up the telephone.
In another related matter, veterinary officers at Makoba Quarantine and the nearby artificial insemination centre are also up in arms over allowances that they feel are due to them, but repeated appeals to authorities have been ignored.
At the centre of the officers' grievances is the Remote Area Service Allowance (RASA), which was cut from July 2004 to August 2008 after an assessment.
A workers' representative, Banyatsi Salutu, also walked into Mmegi offices this week.
Asked if he did not fear reprisals from his employers if they saw his name in the newspaper, he said they have had enough.
"I would rather be the sacrificial lamb. What is the use of not coming into the open when we are treated so badly by our seniors?" he asked.
Salutu said to start with the Remote Area Service Allowance Committee, which conducted the assessment, never addressed them. Hence they want the arrears, which amount to P1, 470 for each of the 35 employees at the two animal husbandry centres.
The officers made their appeal directly to the permanent secretary and they are threatening to march to the Office of the President (OP) if their grievances are not addressed soon.
While they get no RASA allowance, their colleagues at Kaka, Khwee and Thalamabele are paid between P245 and P400 per month.
The veterinary officers are also not happy about educational empowerment saying their colleagues in other departments are better off.
In a letter addressed to a senior agricultural officer in Letlhakane, the officers complain of being overlooked when colleagues at the Animal Productions are now proud owners of certificates in Insemination, Range Management and others.
"The One Million Dollar question is: Which ministry does animal production fall into and which ministry does veterinary services fall into?"
Authorities at the ministry could not be reached for comment at the time of going to press.
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2009 Mmegi/The Reporter. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
