CAAB’s Controversial pay structure put on hold
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The Chief Executive Officer of the Civil Aviation Authority of Botswana (CAAB), Puseletso G. Moshabesha has been forced to engage employees in connection with the controversial new pay structure which was recently “approved” by the CAAB board. The pay structure has been put on hold until further notice following petitions from staff.
The organizational structure has divided CAAB staff and the Directorate of Air Navigation Services, especially Aeronautical Telecommunications Technicians have taken the legal route giving CAAB seven to stop implementation of the new structure.
Meanwhile it is understood that the Ministry of Transport and Communications has advised that the pay structure be suspended until further notice. Further this publication learns that the executive management team met on Thursday and decided to suspend the implementation of the new organizational structure 2017 until further notice.
The organizational structure was to be implemented on 1st October 2017 as per the letter dated 18th September authored by the CEO, Moshabesha in which he wrote, “Staff is hereby informed that the Board, at its meeting held on 7th September 2017, approved the Revised Organizational structure with effect from 1st October 2017.”
Despite the spirited press release campaign by the CAAB’s Public Relations Manager Modipe Nkwe to the effect that the organizational structure has not been suspended, Weekend Post learns that the implementation of the Organisational Structure is on hold. This publication also took liberty to inquire with Nkwe on the reports that some professionals at the CAAB have engaged an attorney to stop the implementation of the structure and this was his response:
“The Air Navigation Services has no intention of going to court. However, CAAB has received a letter of Attorneys instructed by Aeronautical Telecommunications Technicians – a section within the Air Navigation Services Department.” Asked if other any other staff members have petitioned management on the subject of the new pay structure, he said, “CAAB has received a letter from attorneys representing Aeronautical Telecommunications Technicians. But the letter is not a petition but a letter expressing dissatisfaction on the outcome of the Pay structure.” Weekend Post has engaged a couple of staff members of CAAB who confirmed that they have expressed dissatisfaction with the new pay structure by way of writing.
Nkwe further said the CAAB is still to address the matter internally and therefore no outside attorneys have been appointed to represent the Authority. The proposed new pay structure at the Civil Aviation Authority of Botswana (CAAB) has divided staff, with those on the technical side but lower bands accusing those on the Human Resources and Administration bands of coming up with a self-serving structure albeit undermining the “core” cadres of aviation.
The positions grading levels for approved structure – April 2014 compared with the revised structure of October 2017 were shared with staff this week and caused a lot of consternation especially in the middle and lower bands.In an effort to deal with disgruntled staff the CEO had on the 6th of October 2017 wrote an internal memorandum to staff to this effect: “In preparation for the implementation of the approved organizational structure, Management is currently engaging in consultation with relevant stakeholders which will include yourselves/staff. Therefore, the schedule for consultation will be communicated to you in due course.”
It is understood that the consultation process could be halted because it has been resolved that the consultant Deloitte will have to work on the structure again. Meanwhile the CEO, Moshabesha was expected to go on leave from Thursday until next week Monday but the Ministry did not approve it, and asked him to deal with the divisive issue of a new pay structure at CAAB. Moshabesha has to deal with unhappy Air Traffic Controllers, Aviation Security Officers, Aviation Firemen, and Air craft maintenance officers among others. These cadres have been notched at lower bands of 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11 in the CAAB pay structure but they are convinced that they should have been capped at a better scale.
The aggrieved staff point to the Corporate Services directorate which houses human resources and administration personnel as self-serving. According to the new pay structure a number of positions have been moved from band 5 to band 4; and others in their majority have been moved from band 6 to band 4. There is only one person or position pegged at the middle band of 8, an Administrative Assistant, the rest are between 2 and 6 bands.
The Chief Executive Officer remains at the top of the chart on band 1 followed by Heads, Aviation Security and Facilitation Oversight, and Head, Air Transport; Director, Aviation Safety Oversight; Director, Air Navigation Services, Director Airport Services; Director, Corporate Services; and Director, Airport Engineering and Maintenance, who are all on band 2. Corporate Secretary and General Counsel has been downgraded from band 2 to band 3. The biggest jump in the new grading level is observed at the Public Relations and Communication department where the Public Relations and Communications Officer has been upgraded from band 8 to band 5. Head of Public Relations and Communications has been also upgraded from band 4 to band 3.
At Directorate level the staff there ranks the lowest among all the departments with the highest band being 5, held by a Public Affairs Officer and the lowest being 13 held by a Cleaner. A Systems Analyst has been pegged at band 7 in the Directorate. Under Airport Engineering and Maintenance, a most Engineers have been upgraded from band 6 to band 5 while technicians have been upgraded from band 8 to band 7.
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Local tennis team upbeat ahead of Billie Jean King cup
With almost two weeks until the 2023 Billie Jean King Cup, which will be staged in Kenya from June 12-17, 2023, the Botswana Tennis Association (BTA) ladies’ team coach, Ernest Seleke, is optimistic about reaching greater heights.
Billie Jean King Cup, or the BJK Cup, is a premier international team competition in women’s tennis, launched as the Federation Cup to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the International Tennis Federation (ITF). The BJK Cup is the world’s largest annual women’s international team sports competition in terms of the number of nations that compete.
The finals will feature 12 teams (Botswana, Burundi, Ghana, Kenya, Seychelles, Morocco, Namibia, Nigeria, Tunisia, Mauritius, Zimbabwe, and the Democratic Republic of Congo) competing in the four round-robin groups of three. The four group winners will qualify for the semifinals, and the 2023 Billie Jean King Cup will be crowned after the completion of the knockout phase.
Closer to home, the BW Tennis team is comprised of Thato Madikwe, Leungo Monnayoo, Chelsea Chakanyuka, and Kelebogile Monnayoo. However, according to Seleke, they have not assembled the team yet as some of the players are still engaged.
“At the moment, we are depending on the players and their respective coaches in terms of training. However, I will meet up with Botswana-based players in the coming week, while the United States of America (USA) based player Madikwe will probably meet us in Kenya. Furthermore, Ekua Youri and Naledi Raguin, who are based in Spain and France respectively, will not be joining us as they will be writing their examinations,” said Seleke.
Seleke further highlighted the significance of this competition and how competitive it is. “It is a massive platform for our players to showcase their talent in tennis, and it is very competitive as countries target to get promoted to the world categories where they get to face big nations such as Spain, France, USA, and Italy. Though we are going to this tournament as underdogs because it is our second time participating, I’m confident that the girls will put in a good showing and emerge with results despite the odds,” highlighted Seleke.
Quizzed about their debut performance at the BJK Cup, he said, “I think our performance was fair considering the fact that we were newbies. We came third in our group after losing to North Macedonia and South Africa. We went on to beat Uganda, then Kenya in the playoffs. Unfortunately, we couldn’t play Burundi due to heavy rainfall and settled for the position 9/10,” he said.
For her part, team representative Leungo Monnayoo said they are working hard as they aim to do well at the tourney. “The preparations for the tourney have long begun because we practice each and every day. We want to do well, hence we need to be motivated. Furthermore, I believe in my team as we have set ourselves a big target of coming home with the trophy,” she said.
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Pep Stores donates sanitary towels to Popagano JSS
The Guidance and Counseling unit at Popagano Junior Secondary School received a donation of 790 sanitary towels from Pep stores on Thursday.
When presenting the donation, Mareledi Thebeng, the Dinokaneng Area Manager, highlighted their belief in giving back to the community, as their existence depends on the communities they serve. Thebeng pointed out that research indicates one in four girls miss school every day due to the lack of basic necessities like sanitary towels. Therefore, as a company, they strive to assist in alleviating this situation. She expressed hope that this donation would help ensure uninterrupted learning for girls.
Upon receiving the donation on behalf of the students, Charity Sambire, the President of the Student Representative Council, expressed her gratitude. Sambire specifically thanked Pep Store for their generous gift, speaking on behalf of the students, especially the girl child.
She conveyed their sincere appreciation for Pep Store’s compassion and quoted the adage, “Blessed is the hand that gives.” Sambire expressed the students’ hope for Pep Stores’ prosperity, enabling them to continue supporting the students. As a gesture of gratitude, the students pledged to excel academically.
During her speech, Motlalepula Madome, the Senior Teacher in Guidance and Counseling, highlighted that many students at the school come from disadvantaged backgrounds where parents struggle to provide basic necessities. Consequently, some students miss school when they experience menstruation due to this lack.
Madome emphasized the significance of the donation in preventing the girl child from missing lessons and its potential to improve the school’s overall results. She expressed the school’s gratitude and expressed a desire for continued support from Pep Stores.
Popagano Junior Secondary School, situated in the Okavango District, holds the second position academically in the North West region. Despite its location, the school has been dedicated to achieving excellence since 2017
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Botswana misses out critical PAP committee meeting
The Pan African Parliament (PAP) committee on gender, family, youth and people with disability in its sitting considered, adopted and recommended to the plenary session the preliminary report on the framework for the model law on gender equality.
According to the last week’s media release from PAP which is sitting with its various committees until June 2nd, the committee is following up the PAP initiative to draw up a model law on gender equality to enable national governments to harmonize, modernize and standardize their legislations to address local needs is set to be discussed in Plenary.
However, what is concerning is the fact that Botswana which is a member state missed the deliberations. Kgosi Mosadi Seboko who sat in the committee representing Botswana has since been ejected by parliament and this is a huge blow for a nation that is still battling equity and gender balance.
“Although PAP has no legislative powers it makes model laws for member states to adopt. PAP also develops protocols to be ratified by countries. The input of countries at Committee state is extremely critical. It now means the voice of Botswana is missing the discussions leading up to development of protocols or model laws,” said one of Botswana’s representative at PAP Dr. Kesitegile Gobotswang who is attending the current session.
While Botswana is missing, the committee meeting took place on the sidelines of the Sixth PAP second ordinary Session being held under the African Union Theme of the Year for 2023, “The Year of AfCFTA: Accelerating the Implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area” in Midrand, South Africa and will run up to 2 June 2023. Chairperson of the Committee, Hon Mariam Dao-Gabala expressed satisfaction with preliminary processes undertaken so far towards the formulation of the Model Law,” a release from the PAP website reads.
“The law should be suitable to all countries whatever the predominant culture or religion is. The aim is to give an opportunity to women to participate in the economic, political and social development of the continent. Women are not well positioned and face a lot of obstacles. We are introducing the idea of equity in the Law because we cannot talk about equality without equity,” said Hon Mariam Dao-Gabala in the press statement.
The release has stated that among issues to be covered by the Model Law is the migratory movements of women. The Committee proffered that this has to be addressed at the continental level to ensure that migrant women enjoy all their rights and live with dignity in their destination country. The members of the Gender Committee undertook consultations to consolidate the contributions of the various stakeholders that will be the logical framework format for the Model Law.