{"id":82837,"date":"2026-04-11T11:22:42","date_gmt":"2026-04-11T11:22:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/unions-pushback-against-moswaane-over-fake-medicine-claims"},"modified":"2026-04-11T12:18:39","modified_gmt":"2026-04-11T12:18:39","slug":"unions-pushback-against-moswaane-over-fake-medicine-claims","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/unions-pushback-against-moswaane-over-fake-medicine-claims","title":{"rendered":"Unions Pushback against Moswaane over \u2018Fake\u2019 Medicine Claims"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Botswana. <\/strong><\/span>Public sector trade unions have launched a rebuttal against Assistant Minister of Local Government Ignatius Moswaane, accusing him of spreading \u201cbaseless and dangerous\u201d claims that health workers are sabotaging medicine supplies in public hospitals.<\/b>
\nSTRONG REBUKE<\/b><\/p>\n

In a strongly worded rebuttal issued recently, the unions said they are \u201coutraged and profoundly alarmed\u201d by Moswaane\u2019s remarks, which they described as reckless and inflammatory. The statement, issued to all media houses, rejects allegations that shortages of essential medicines in Botswana\u2019s public health facilities are the result of deliberate actions by healthcare workers.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe claims are not only irrational and disrespectful to the working class but outright divisive and dangerously aggressive,\u201d the unions said. \u201cWe will not tolerate such slanderous attacks on our dedicated members.\u201d<\/p>\n

WORKING CONDITIONS<\/b><\/p>\n

The unions defended health workers, insisting they remain professional, ethical, and committed despite operating under what they called \u201cintolerable conditions,\u201d including severe understaffing, chronic shortages of resources, and overwhelming patient demand.<\/p>\n

They argue that the country\u2019s ongoing medicine shortages stem from systemic failures within government, particularly in procurement processes, supply chain management, and funding constraints. The unions pointed to longstanding concerns raised by oversight bodies and the government\u2019s own declaration of a public health emergency in August 2025 as evidence of deeper structural problems.<\/p>\n

SYSTEM FAILURES<\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cFor years, Botswana\u2019s healthcare system has been in a state of collapse,\u201d the statement said, citing persistent shortages of medicines used to treat conditions such as hypertension, cancer, diabetes, tuberculosis, asthma, and mental health disorders.<\/p>\n

The unions accused Moswaane of deflecting responsibility from government failures by placing blame on frontline workers. They warned that such statements risk undermining public confidence in the health system at a critical time.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis tactic is unacceptable, demoralising, and politically motivated,\u201d the unions said. \u201cIt risks eroding public trust in our health sector and unfairly targets those who continue to serve under extremely difficult circumstances.\u201d<\/p>\n

CALL FOR RETRACTION<\/b><\/p>\n

They further described the Assistant Minister\u2019s claims as \u201cpatently false, deliberately misleading, and grossly inaccurate,\u201d adding that they damage the reputation and professional standing of health workers.<\/p>\n

The unions have demanded an immediate retraction of the remarks and called on government to focus on \u201creal solutions\u201d to address medicine shortages, rather than what they termed scapegoating.<\/p>\n

They also took issue with what they described as an outrageous claim by Moswaane, uttered during a kgotla meeting in Metsimotlhabe, that health workers are intentionally withholding and concealing medicines from patients. This, they said, was linked to the so-called \u201cdiscovery\u201d of 102 boxes in a storeroom, which he allegedly labelled as \u201csabotage.\u201d<\/p>\n

ADDITIONAL CLAIMS<\/b><\/p>\n

The unions also expressed concern about prior unfounded allegations that the Ministry of Health distributed counterfeit and substandard medications for children, potentially lethal and harmful, alongside smuggled fake high blood pressure drugs bypassing all regulatory safeguards.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Public Sector Trade Unions assure our citizens that we do not and will never condone negligence, unprofessionalism, unethical conduct, or any form of misconduct under any circumstances. Our members are resolute in their dedication to serving the nation with integrity, despite these adversities,\u201d they said.<\/p>\n

The unions are Botswana Public Employees Union (BOPEU), Botswana Sectors of Educators Trade Union (BOSETU), Botswana Teachers Union (BTU), Botswana Nurses Union (BONU), National Amalgamated Local, Central, Parastatal and Government Workers Union (NALCGPWU) and Botswana Doctors Union (BDU).<\/p>\n

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

Africa-Press – Botswana. Public sector trade unions have launched a rebuttal against Assistant Minister of Local Government Ignatius Moswaane, accusing him of spreading \u201cbaseless and dangerous\u201d claims that health workers are sabotaging medicine supplies in public hospitals. STRONG REBUKE In a strongly worded rebuttal issued recently, the unions said they are \u201coutraged and profoundly alarmed\u201d […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":82836,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,3],"tags":[234],"class_list":["post-82837","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-community","tag-botswana"],"yoast_head":"\nUnions Pushback against Moswaane over \u2018Fake\u2019 Medicine Claims - Botswana<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Public sector trade unions have launched a rebuttal against Assistant Minister of Local Government Ignatius Moswaane, ...\" \/>\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\/unions-pushback-against-moswaane-over-fake-medicine-claims\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Unions Pushback against Moswaane over \u2018Fake\u2019 Medicine Claims\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Public sector trade unions have launched a rebuttal against Assistant Minister of Local Government Ignatius Moswaane, ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/unions-pushback-against-moswaane-over-fake-medicine-claims\" \/>\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=\"2026-04-11T11:22:42+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-04-11T12:18:39+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/botswana\/sites\/38\/2026\/04\/sm_1775897203.066189.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1280\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"720\" \/>\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\/unions-pushback-against-moswaane-over-fake-medicine-claims#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/unions-pushback-against-moswaane-over-fake-medicine-claims\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Unions Pushback against Moswaane over \u2018Fake\u2019 Medicine Claims\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-04-11T11:22:42+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-04-11T12:18:39+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/unions-pushback-against-moswaane-over-fake-medicine-claims\"},\"wordCount\":568,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/unions-pushback-against-moswaane-over-fake-medicine-claims#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/botswana\/sites\/38\/2026\/04\/sm_1775897203.066189.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Botswana\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"community\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/unions-pushback-against-moswaane-over-fake-medicine-claims#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/unions-pushback-against-moswaane-over-fake-medicine-claims\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/unions-pushback-against-moswaane-over-fake-medicine-claims\",\"name\":\"Unions Pushback against Moswaane over \u2018Fake\u2019 Medicine Claims - 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