Africa-Press – Botswana. A clarion call by President Dr Mokgweetsi Masisi to have Batswana graduates apply for jobs and fill up quotas at the African Union and other international organisations is paying up big-time. BOPA’S reporter Mooketsi Mojalemotho writes…
Ms Botho Bayendi is among a few who have jumped at the opportunity and landed herself a plumb job as Director of Strategic Planning and Delivery, a top-notch position in the African Union and in the process breaking the jinx of over 50 years that the Southern African nation had not been able to assume such a position as per the job quota it has been offered by the Union.
“The portfolio is massive and it is mostly responsible for Agenda 2063.
It is a professional position that I applied for in 2021, but only offered the job two years later in 2023,’’ she said in an interview at her office at the AU headquarters in Addis-Ababa, Ethiopia on Sunday. She attributed her gainful employment to President Masisi’s fire in the belly and zest to have as many Batswana graduates as possible look beyond the horizon and take up jobs internationally.
Patience is a good virtue when looking for jobs outside the country as sometimes the recruitment process takes a little longer than expected as was her case, she told BOPA.
“I accidentally ‘fell’ onto the AU website while I was attending the Dubai expo and applied for this post,” she said.
Ms Bayendi is willing to offer any form of assistance to help aspiring Batswana looking for employment at the African Union and elsewhere with her experience. Landing a job outside the confines of Botswana borders, she said, was a real eye opener and opportunity that should not be missed for anything.
Batswana should not look down on themselves as they have been given the best education to compete globally and that coupled with their good work ethic, makes them a force to be reckoned with.
Under regular positions quota, Ms Bayendi said that only three Batswana filled up the AU positions, a thing she attributed to the unresponsiveness of fellow citizens.
According to Ms Bayendi, there remained many job opportunities for Batswana in different AU organs that were spread across the continent.
“It is interesting that even at the International Monetary Fund and World Bank, Africa does not meet the job quota it has been given. If I can, Batswana can,” she said, calling on fellow Batswana to leverage on the job offers.
Ms Bayendi is purely a product of the Botswana education system, who started her primary school in Moshupa, progressing all the way to the University of Botswana. Her secret to success, she says, is to occupy her space with knowledge. People should invest in themselves and acquire education and stop looking at government to go at it alone.
A statistician by training who also ventured into Strategy Management to solidify her career prospects, Ms Bayendi was at some point a director at Botswana Investment and Trade Centre before she joined Botswana National Olympic Committee.
She has also had stints with numerous organisations, which include among others; Botswana Qualification Authority and Botswana Housing Corporation, Citizen Entrepreneurial Development Agency as well as Botswana National Productivity Centre. Her advice to Batswana youth is simple; acquire education, but let hard work and humility also define you.
Ms Obakeng Mooko is another young Motswana engaged with the AU as a legal associate and hoisting the blue, black and white flag high.
She has been working at the AU since August 2023 as an attorney and is happy that she is being exposed to politics and is developing tremendously in her career.
She also appreciates the beauty of multilateralism in the real sense of the word.
Another Motswana making a huge impact outside Botswana is Ms Gemma Matshidiso from Ramotswa.
She works for the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat in Accra, Ghana.
She joined the AU organ in June last year.
Ms Matshidiso works as the coordinator for Regional Economic Communities (RECs), which oversees all the eight economic regional blocks that are recognised by the African Union.
She doubles as the Coordinator for Women in Trade and Youth portfolio.
She too relays she applied for the post through the African Union website, which she tells BOPA abounds with career opportunities.
Besides AU, organisations such as UNDP and GIZ (Gesellschaft fur Internationale Zusammenarbeit) are always looking to hire aspiring and competent people.
Such opportunities, she said, included internships which are available in various countries across the globe.
Batswana, she advised, should be on the lookout for openings in various international organisations through their websites.
“We have become too comfortable as Batswana and do not want to seek jobs beyond our shores.
Mr Gaokgakala Lemmenyane is yet another young Motswana cutting his teeth at the AU.
He works as an advisor to the AU Commission Chairperson on Education, Science and Innovation.
He has had a two-year stint at the organisation. “My position here is a political appointment and is tied to the tenure of the current AU Commission chairperson and will automatically come to an end next year as Mr Moussa Mahamat’s reign comes to an end,” he said.
His job entails strategy development and giving guidance on policies aimed at advancing the lives of the 1.4 billion Africans.
Like his colleagues, Mr Lemmenyane believes Batswana have what it takes to grab the bull by the horns, and this includes taking up volunteer and internship spaces within various international organisations.
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