{"id":83087,"date":"2026-04-16T10:17:10","date_gmt":"2026-04-16T10:17:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/interns-petition-government-over-delayed-allowance-increase"},"modified":"2026-04-16T10:17:10","modified_gmt":"2026-04-16T10:17:10","slug":"interns-petition-government-over-delayed-allowance-increase","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/interns-petition-government-over-delayed-allowance-increase","title":{"rendered":"Interns Petition Government over Delayed Allowance Increase"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"color: #ff6600\"><strong>Africa-Press &#8211; Botswana. <\/strong><\/span><b>Officers under the government internship programme have submitted a petition calling for the implementation of a previously announced increase in internship allowances from P1,900 to P4,000.<\/b><\/p>\n<p>The petition was presented to the Director in the Department of Employment Services at the Ministry of Labour and Home Affairs, Ms Tshenolo Omphitlhetse in Gaborone on Tuesday.<\/p>\n<p>Receiving the petition, Ms Omphitlhetse expressed appreciation for the interns\u2019 action and assured them that the matter would be reviewed, with a response to follow.<\/p>\n<p>The petition, spearheaded by a recognised committee advocating for interns\u2019 welfare, highlighted concerns over stagnant allowances, outdated programme guidelines, and limited career progression opportunities.<\/p>\n<p>Speaking on behalf of the petitioners, policy advocate, Ms Precious Kiberu emphasised that interns were qualified, skilled and deserving of better conditions.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe are placed based on our qualifications, yet denied opportunities to apply for internal vacancies. We are contributing meaningfully, but earning wages that do not reflect our value or the current economic realities,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>Ms Kiberu further called for the amendment of the 2016 internship guidelines. She cited that as per the regulations, remuneration of female interns were suspended when on maternity leave.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSuch provisions are not only outdated but infringe on basic human rights. How does one survive on P1 900 under these conditions, especially given the rising cost of living,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>The petition calls for a comprehensive review of the internship framework, including an immediate allowance increase, revision of guidelines and improved welfare considerations.<\/p>\n<p>Interns also indicted that they were underutilised in their respective workplaces, as there were often assigned menial tasks, unrelated to their qualifications.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe are here to gain experience and develop professionally, not to be reduced to errand runners, we want meaningful work and fair compensation.<\/p>\n<p>We matter and we want change now,\u201d Ms Kiberu said.<\/p>\n<p>Concurring with Ms Kiberu, Ms Benita Magopane stressed that the demand for a P4,000 allowance was not arbitrary but based on commitments previously made by Minister of Labour and Home Affairs.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is what we were promised last year, the economic situation in Botswana has worsened since then, and the cost of living continues to rise. It is only fair that the government fulfills its promise,\u201d said Ms Magopane<\/p>\n<p>She also noted concerns about the future of the internship programme, including unfulfilled pledges of programme restructuring, international placement opportunities and potential absorption into permanent roles.<\/p>\n<p><strong>For More News And Analysis About <span style=\"color: #ff6600\">Botswana<\/span> Follow <span style=\"color: #ff6600\">Africa-Press<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Africa-Press &#8211; Botswana. Officers under the government internship programme have submitted a petition calling for the implementation of a previously announced increase in internship allowances from P1,900 to P4,000. The petition was presented to the Director in the Department of Employment Services at the Ministry of Labour and Home Affairs, Ms Tshenolo Omphitlhetse in Gaborone [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":83086,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,12],"tags":[234],"class_list":["post-83087","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-policy","tag-botswana"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.1 (Yoast SEO v27.0) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Interns Petition Government over Delayed Allowance Increase - Botswana<\/title>\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\/interns-petition-government-over-delayed-allowance-increase\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Interns Petition Government over Delayed Allowance Increase\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Africa-Press &#8211; Botswana. Officers under the government internship programme have submitted a petition calling for the implementation of a previously announced increase in internship allowances from P1,900 to P4,000. The petition was presented to the Director in the Department of Employment Services at the Ministry of Labour and Home Affairs, Ms Tshenolo Omphitlhetse in Gaborone [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/interns-petition-government-over-delayed-allowance-increase\" \/>\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=\"2026-04-16T10:17:10+00:00\" \/>\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=\"2 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\/interns-petition-government-over-delayed-allowance-increase#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/interns-petition-government-over-delayed-allowance-increase\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Interns Petition Government over Delayed Allowance Increase\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-04-16T10:17:10+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/interns-petition-government-over-delayed-allowance-increase\"},\"wordCount\":410,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/interns-petition-government-over-delayed-allowance-increase#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/botswana\/sites\/38\/2026\/04\/sm_1776327873.276217.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Botswana\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"policy\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/interns-petition-government-over-delayed-allowance-increase#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/interns-petition-government-over-delayed-allowance-increase\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/interns-petition-government-over-delayed-allowance-increase\",\"name\":\"Interns Petition Government over Delayed Allowance Increase - 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