Africa-Press – Botswana. President Duma Boko holds that Botswana’s widespread poverty is the result of successive BDP governments sacrificing Batswana on the altar of direct foreign investment that never even came.
President Duma Boko has come out in full support of the country’s doctors who are currently at loggerheads with the government over improved working conditions and better remuneration that go back to 2022.
As the Ministry of Health team addressed a press conference to explain its position in Gaborone yesterday (Tuesday), elsewhere in the city President Boko was describing the doctors’ concerns as genuine, attributing their plight to “systematic and historical injustices” that stretch far beyond the medical profession.
Valid
“The doctors’ demands are valid,” he said at the launch of the Bonno Target 3000 Housing Project at Kgale View.
“Many of our people work hard under the most difficult circumstances. Why? Because we have operated within what was deliberately designed to be a low-wage economy.
“The idea behind it… was to attract large inflows of foreign direct investment. But that hasn’t happened. Instead, what it has brought is widespread impoverishment – even among those employed.”
Fortitude
Boko blamed the country’s low public sector wages on “unjust historical economic strategies” that he said were crafted by the previous government to attract foreign direct investment (FDI) at the expense of the local workforce.
“When accusations are made against us, we must receive them with fortitude,” he said. “We must acknowledge that while we did not create these problems, we now bear the responsibility of resolving them… in the shortest possible time.”
The renewed agitation by doctors follows years of dissatisfaction over what they view as stagnated salaries and poor working conditions, which have led to burnout and expatriation of skilled health professionals.
Since 2022
The Botswana Doctors’ Union has been vocal recently, calling for urgent government intervention to avert a looming crisis in the healthcare sector, which they say has been brewing since 2022.
As tensions rise, the Botswana Congress Party (BCP) has issued a scathing statement condemning the Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) government for its handling of the ongoing standoff with the doctors’ union.
The BCP – which is the country’s official opposition – accusing it of failing to provide the leadership required to resolve the escalating labour dispute in the public health sector.
Punitive and vengeful
According to the BCP, the government has failed to treat the matter with the urgency and seriousness that it deserves, allowing tensions to escalate within the healthcare system.
The party described the UDC’s “punitive and vengeful” approach to the matter as bordering on arrogance and abuse of power that threatens to plunge the public healthcare system into a crisis, jeopardising both the welfare of healthcare professionals and the lives of patients.
The BCP expressed outrage over what it termed the government’s delaying tactics, stalling of dialogue processes, and blatant disregard of the Collective Labour Agreement.
Litigation over dialogue
The party condemned the government’s refusal to consent to arbitration in a labour dispute involving essential service workers, calling it a violation of human rights and evidence of the government’s preference for litigation over meaningful dialogue.
“By relying on the courts and avoiding negotiation, the UDC government is showing its lack of commitment to patients’ well-being, healthcare professionals and industrial peace,” said the statement.
“This stance either aims to engineer the mass dismissal of doctors or risks triggering a wave of resignations from public service.”
“Irresponsible” ultimatums
The BCP also strongly criticised what it described as the government’s “irresponsible” use of ultimatums, threats and provocative social media statements, accusing it of worsening the crisis instead of offering leadership.
The party warned that such behaviour undermines the principles of good governance and evokes memories of the regrettable labour crisis of 2011.
Calling for a swift and fair resolution to the impasse, the BCP urged the government to abandon the court interdict and engage in genuine negotiations with the doctors’ union.
In solidarity with doctors
It demanded strict adherence to labour laws governing essential services and an end to punitive tactics. “We stand unwaveringly in solidarity with the doctors’ union,” the BCP declared.
It added that the government must stop gambling with the lives of citizens by prolonging the conflict.
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