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Major public service shake-up looming

Montlenyane Baaitse
 
Montlenyane Baaitse

It seems the hardest hit is the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where officers have been reportedly thrown out with career diplomats basically misplaced. There has been hullaballoo in the corridors of power that the public service is somewhat awash with civil servants who have ‘deviously’ chosen not to toe the line of their principals. Normally, this line of thinking becomes even more pronounced when the country goes to the national polls as the government becomes more content with officers who rarely question the line of thinking of their principals and decision-making processes, generally.

The government enclave normally whirrs with transfers of senior public servants in particular during the elections year and the main culprit in the year of elections amongst other government departments has been the Mass Media Complex, which houses both the government Information Services and Broadcasting Services. The latter department recently lost its director, Raymond Tsheko, who has been transferred outside the (Media) Complex to the Ministry of Environment and Tourism in his capacity as a director. This is one move that smacks of political interference ahead of the national polls slated for October this year. Tsheko, a renowned broadcaster, has almost been misplaced although there is an insistence that public servants are ‘transferrable’.

It is still fresh in the minds of many as in the past, Sakaeyo Jannie, a retired veteran broadcaster successfully thwarted efforts to dump him outside the Mass Media Complex. Jannie resisted the abrupt transfer by taking the employer to court where his wish was finally granted and thereby he survived the transfer axe, as his transfer would fall off. In 2008, ahead of the 2009 General Election, one of Radio Botswana's longest serving personalities, Montlenyane Baaitse was hauled out of the Mass Media Complex to the Ministry of Trade and Industry, a move that raised eyebrows and rumours that she was re-deployed at the instruction of the Office of the President during President Ian Khama’s tenure as the helmsman during the fourth Republic.

It is alleged that Baaitse was re-deployed “following failure to cover the launch of the constituency league by the Botswana Television.” This allegedly annoyed former President Khama who officiated at the event. Baaitse then was Head of News and Current Affairs at the Btv. The event was held at Botswana Football Association's Lekidi Football Centre. Baaitse, who is on secondment from Debswana Jwaneng Mine, is now the Permanent Secretary, Government Communications. As a norm, the official announcement of mass movement in the public service would be made very soon with a comprehensive list of officers who have been affected. To the majority of the officers, they have allegedly been penned notifications of intention to transfer them to other departments. In one of these developments, Cliff Maribe, a career diplomat, who has been the acting Permanent Secretary (PS) at Foreign Affairs, has been ‘terminated’ (when he was left with seven days to turn one year in the acting capacity), which would compel the employer, Botswana government to confirm him as a substantive PS. Information received allege that Lorato Plaatjie has been appointed acting PS, Foreign Affairs, instead. Maribe is another career diplomat who has been serving at Foreign Affairs.

His acting capacity was precipitated by the departure of Dr Gladys Mokhawa who was appointed Botswana’s Permanent Representative at the United Nations about a year ago. Also, about three directors have been reportedly served with intentions to transfer them out of Foreign Affairs. Nkoloi Nkoloi, another career diplomat of note, has also been allegedly served with a notice to transfer him to the Ministry of Youth, Gender, Sports and Culture as a director. Keitumetse Mpotokwane, who has been deputy District Commissioner at Ramotswa, has been reportedly transferred to Foreign Affairs as a director. Quizzed about his alleged impending transfer to the Ministry of Youth this week, Nkoloi was in no mood to discuss the looming movement. In a Whatsapp enquiry, Nkoloi told Mmegi: “I’m really constrained to speak to the media.” Equally, some middle management officers' appointments to Foreign offices were reportedly terminated last minute.

When quizzed also in a Whatsapp enquiry, if it was true that his Ministry now has a new Acting PS other than Maribe, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lemogang Kwape confirmed the development yesterday. Permanent Secretary, Government Communications, Baaitse, who is also government spokesperson, yesterday told Mmegi that if there was any impending major shake-up of the public service, she was not privy to such a development, “more so that I am currently on leave.”