Africa-Press – Botswana. BOFEPUSU has accused DPSM of corrupt practices in which positions with overlapping roles are created for friends, thus abandoning its role as the custodian of the Public Service Act and bloating the government wage bill.
The Directorate of Public Service Management (DPSM) has deviated from its role as a custodian of the Public Service Act by creating positions for individuals aligned with those in leadership positions, BOFEPUSU has said.
In a statement released yesterday (Tuesday), the Secretary General of Botswana Federation of Public, Private and Parastatal Sector Unions, Robert Rabasimane, asserted that procedural exercises have been cast aside to create new roles while those who question the process are subjected to forced transfers.
Shocking
According to Rabasimane, the casual nature of recruitment has resulted in the creation of too many positions with overlapping roles that have bloated the public service wage bill to unmanageable levels.
“There is a very questionable trend of positions being created (but) not for the needs of the Department and external candidates who have worked with the leadership are appointed to the same,” Rabasimane said.
“The whole process is so informal that it is shocking. The current DPSM management is self-centred and self-enriching on an expedition to defraud the government. It is an open secret that posts are created for friends from outside without following due process.”
Personal interests
He asserted that DPSM has created a culture in which personal interests supersede the integrity of the public service. “We call for the DPSM to account and avail all positions that have been created since 2022 to-date, to inform the nation how they have been filled,” said the BOFEPUSU statement.
“The management of the DPSM has… abused its power for personal gain. For example, some positions that are ordinarily for ministry headquarters have been created to facilitate appointment of friends and cronies.”
No legal basis
The federation emphasised that since there have been no legally-sanctioned changes to the mandate of DPSM, any adjustments made have no legal basis.
“Section 11 of the Public Service Act remains in its original text and alterations introduced by the DPSM that warrant most of these positions have no legal basis,” it said.
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