{"id":15931,"date":"2022-11-02T10:17:57","date_gmt":"2022-11-02T10:17:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/in-the-firing-line"},"modified":"2022-11-02T11:51:14","modified_gmt":"2022-11-02T11:51:14","slug":"in-the-firing-line","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/in-the-firing-line","title":{"rendered":"In The Firing Line"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Botswana. <\/strong><\/span>Ruthless BDF sets sights on unfit soldiers<\/b><\/p>\n

Low-ranking Botswana Defence Force (BDF) troops are living in fear of losing their jobs, as their employer goes on a ruthless culling mission to dump the deadwood and fire anyone deemed not fit enough to serve.<\/p>\n

Concerned soldiers have told The Voice that the exercise, which has seen at least 15 low-ranking soldiers based at Francistown Donga Camp lose their jobs since the start of last year, has sent shivers down the spines of the gunmen.<\/p>\n

However, insisting they smell a rat, they accused the powers-that-be of not playing fair.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is the manner in which the exercise is being carried out. They target everyone below the rank of Staff Sergeant,\u201d said a soldier who recently received his marching orders.<\/p>\n

\u201cLet\u2019s be honest, most of the senior officers don\u2019t look fit for duty yet have to undergo the same medical examination, which somehow they miraculously pass!\u201d fired the now unemployed former Lance Corporal.<\/p>\n

According to a group of dismissed soldiers who asked to remain anonymous, the whole medical boarding is marred by controversy as there are signs of favouritism and victimisation.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe process is haphazard, and being abused by senior officers to settle personal scores,\u201d claimed another sacked army man.<\/p>\n

The sacked soldiers accuse the BDF of trampling on the junior officers\u2019 rights, by dismissing them from work without any valid reasons.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve all been dismissed from work, apparently for medical reasons. But, to this day, we\u2019ve not been told what we\u2019re suffering from,\u201d complained the group.<\/p>\n

In an emotional interview with The Voice, the dismissed soldiers said most of their former colleagues fired last year are now living in squalor, with some already showing signs of depression.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe BDF is dumping us into poverty after we\u2019ve served this country with diligence,\u201d they seethed.<\/p>\n

The group accused the army of going further still and using part of the terminal benefits to settle their personal loans on their behalf.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I owe a bank, what gives you the right to take my money without my permission to pay-off my loan,\u201d demanded another pissed-off ex-soldier.<\/p>\n

The Voice sent an inquiry to the BDF\u2019s Public Relations office.<\/p>\n

In their response, the army said it is in accordance with the BDF Act, 2018 Section 281(4) to carry out medical assessment for individuals whose medical condition requires evaluation to determine retention or employability status.<\/p>\n

\u201cSuch medical assessments are done with strict compliance to the prescribed section and any other associated institutional policies or directives,\u201d explained BDF mouthpiece, Colonel Magosi Moshagane.<\/p>\n

He further rubbished the dismissed soldiers\u2019 assertions that they were booted out without being informed exactly what they were suffering from.<\/p>\n

Moshagane maintains the medical board process involves the physical presence and participation of the patient.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn line with doctor\/patient confidentiality and rights, the affected member is entitled to know their ailment, and such service members assessed by a medical board are informed of their medical condition,\u201d he reiterated.<\/p>\n

The Colonel further noted that following medical evaluation or assessment, a discharged member\u2019s benefits will be determined in accordance with the appropriate processes and procedures.<\/p>\n

Moshagane would, however, not be drawn into discussing how many soldiers have been medically discharged in the last two years, describing such information as classified and thus not to be shared with the media.<\/p>\n

\u201cEqually, issues around settlements of outstanding loans for separating members are contractual arrangements between the employer and employee,\u201d was Moshagane\u2019s response to accusations that the BDF use part of the dismissed individual\u2019s terminal benefits to pay off their bank loans on their behalf without any authorisation.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Botswana<\/a> Follow Africa-Press<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Botswana. Ruthless BDF sets sights on unfit soldiers Low-ranking Botswana Defence Force (BDF) troops are living in fear of losing their jobs, as their employer goes on a ruthless culling mission to dump the deadwood and fire anyone deemed not fit enough to serve. Concerned soldiers have told The Voice that the exercise, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":15930,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,12],"tags":[233,237,234],"class_list":["post-15931","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-policy","tag-africa-press","tag-africa-press-botswana","tag-botswana"],"yoast_head":"\nIn The Firing Line - Botswana<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Ruthless BDF sets sights on unfit soldiers Low-ranking Botswana Defence Force (BDF) troops are living in fear of ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/in-the-firing-line\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"In The Firing Line\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Ruthless BDF sets sights on unfit soldiers Low-ranking Botswana Defence Force (BDF) troops are living in fear of ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/in-the-firing-line\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Botswana\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-11-02T10:17:57+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-11-02T11:51:14+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/botswana\/sites\/38\/2022\/11\/postQueueImg_27-6362599302345.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"675\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/in-the-firing-line#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/in-the-firing-line\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"In The Firing Line\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-11-02T10:17:57+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-11-02T11:51:14+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/in-the-firing-line\"},\"wordCount\":620,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/in-the-firing-line#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/botswana\/sites\/38\/2022\/11\/postQueueImg_27-6362599302345.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Africa Press\",\"Africa Press-Botswana\",\"Botswana\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"policy\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/in-the-firing-line#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/in-the-firing-line\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/in-the-firing-line\",\"name\":\"In The Firing Line - 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