The Manual Workers Union has accused the government of undermining meritocracy in the public service through alleged political appointments, cadre deployment and questionable procurement practices, calling for independent audits and parliamentary investigations.
In a statement this week, the National Amalgamated Local, Central Government and Parastatal Workers Union said the administration was systematically dismantling Botswana’s professional, non-partisan and merit-based public service.
The union also criticised the reported participation of public servants in the Botswana National Front (BNF) conference in Selebi-Phikwe, describing their presence and active involvement as a dangerous provocation and a potential breach of the requirement for political neutrality in the public service.
“Public logistics, personnel and state assets belong to the taxpayers of Botswana,” the union said, adding that public servants openly operating as party cadres amounted to a violation of the Public Service Act.
It argued that public servants, from senior administrators to industrial-class employees, are required to remain politically neutral and warned against the use of government logistics, personnel and state assets for partisan political activities.
“Public logistics, personnel and state assets belong to the taxpayers of Botswana,” the union said, adding that public servants openly operating as party cadres amounted to a violation of the Public Service Act.
The union further accused the administration of practising what it described as a contradiction between public statements opposing cadre deployment and the alleged appointment of politically connected individuals to government and state-owned enterprise positions.
It claimed that critical appointments were increasingly being reserved for friends, former colleagues and well-connected relatives, while competent public officers were being sidelined or victimised for refusing to comply with allegedly unlawful instructions.
The union warned that Botswana risked following South Africa’s experience, where cadre deployment was examined by the Zondo Commission of Inquiry as part of investigations into state capture and institutional corruption. It cited two areas of concern involving public procurement and the treatment of businesses.
First, the union alleged that local businesses with good tax-compliance records were being sidelined in state tenders in favour of politically connected companies. It singled out Prevailing Securities, associated with Mr Baaitse, claiming the company had faced a tax bill exceeding P72 million that was upheld by the Court of Appeal. The union questioned why businesses with unresolved tax liabilities could continue to access lucrative government opportunities while compliant local enterprises struggled to secure contracts.
The union’s demands include an immediate independent audit of high-level appointments within the Department of Public Service Management and state-owned enterprises to establish whether merit-based recruitment procedures were followed.
Second, it raised concerns about what it described as opaque ministerial procurement, including contracts for high-level ministerial furniture allegedly linked to business figures such as Mr Setimela. It called for greater transparency in the awarding of major government contracts.
The union’s demands include an immediate independent audit of high-level appointments within the Department of Public Service Management and state-owned enterprises to establish whether merit-based recruitment procedures were followed.
It also wants individuals and companies with court-confirmed, unresolved tax evasion cases blacklisted from public procurement and state concession tenders.
Additionally, the union called for a parliamentary inquiry into recent unadvertised or direct-award ministerial procurement contracts to ensure equal opportunities for citizen-owned businesses.
It demanded full protection for public servants allegedly facing administrative victimisation for upholding the law.
