30 Jan 2025

Member of Parliament for Tati West, Mr Justine Hunyepa says all vacant posts in government ministries and institutions must be filled up as soon as possible because they have been budgeted for.

Addressing head of departments and public employees in Masunga recently, Mr Hunyepa said by the middle of this year, a lot of qualifying personnel should be employed and confirmed to fill up those posts.

Mr Hunyepa advised that issues of delayed progression should be looked into and where opportunities were available, vacant posts must be filled for people to progress as there was no reason why posts could not be filled while there were deserving officers.

He said issues of further training were a concern, indicating that if they had been budgeted for, people should be trained up to Phd level as government wanted to have quality employees. 

He however explained that this could be done when the budget and training plan allowed.

He said the Ministry of Higher Education was worried by the escalating number of temporary employment citing that teaching and learning could not be done in that way as there had to be consistency and flow of learning.

“The decision is that those temporary lecturers be employed and vacant posts filled basing at the establishment register, which if it did not allow, had to be revised so that there was the right personnel in the institutions,” he said.

Mr Hunyepa said there was the issue of scarce skills where some officers had won their Court cases but their management failed to implement the court judgement, thus disadvantaging employees.

Action should be taken against those supervisors who failed to implement court orders because it had financial implications against the government.  He added that all costs against the government on that case must be paid by those supervisors.

“We encourage that if there was a judgement and employees had won their case, it should be implemented as it is,” he said, especially if government does not appeal, let it be implemented as it was.

Regarding issues of transfers relating to spouses, Mr Hunyepa said supervisors should look at commutable distances and avoid transfers as punishment.

“There were some case where some officers agreed to swap and management refuses,” he said at the mercy of management, those transfers should be effected for officers to enjoy their work.

Briefing the Minister, Principal District Officer Development, Ms Omphile Mogorosi said the district experienced foot and mouth outbreak in the past.

The outbreak left some residents in a state of poverty as they were relying on their livestock for farming and livelihood.

Ms Mogorosi said there are some issues of poor road networks and that of inadequate storm water drainage facilities.

She said there are some issues of dilapidated infrastructure as most of government facilities took long time without maintenance and lack of office space for other departments that were housed in Francistown.

She highlighted that there is no fire station in the district, citing that in the event of fire outbreak, they rely on Francistown for assistance. ENDS