Africa-Press – Botswana. Mokgware’s intervention follows weeks of heightened tensions between the parties and may avert a disaster for Botswana’s already strained public health system.
In a desperate bid to avert a looming healthcare crisis, the Minister of Labour and Home Affairs, Major General Pius Mokgware (rtd), has taken it upon himself to mediate a long-running standoff between the Botswana Doctors Union (BDU), the Ministry of Health, and the Directorate of Public Service Management (DPSM).
Mokgware’s intervention follows weeks of heightened tensions between the parties.
BDU recently turned the tables on the government with its own “No Pay, No Work” policy in response to the government’s declaration of “No Work, No Pay”.
Potential collapse
The union has accused the government of continued exploitation of its members and unfair labour practices, warning of a potential collapse in hospital services if its concerns are not urgently addressed.
This was in direct response to what the union views as an unjustified move by the Ministry of Health and DPSM’s “No Work, No Pay” policy for doctors who refuse to turn up for unpaid emergency and overtime shifts.
The president of BDU, Dr Kefilwe Selema, has confirmed that Minister Mokgware met with the union last night. “Yes, we have met and given him our side of the story,” he told The Botswana Gazette. “He has undertaken to engage the other parties.”
But Mokgware, for his part, demurred, saying only: “I suggest that you wait.”
Govt angles for foreign doctors
Central to the doctors’ grievances is what they say is an unjust system of employment that discriminates against local medical professionals.
According to Dr Selema, the government is now recruiting foreign doctors on long-term contracts while local doctors continue to be hired on short-term, insecure contracts, usually of between six and 12 months, with no pension benefits.
“It is deeply ironic for a government that preaches citizen empowerment to sideline its own people in favour of foreign professionals who aren’t even subjected to standard medical examinations,” he said.
Observers say, if left unresolved, the impasse could spell disaster for Botswana’s already strained public health system. With doctors now partially or fully withdrawing their services in protest, many fear a surge in patient suffering and potentially avoidable deaths.
For More News And Analysis About Botswana Follow Africa-Press
