Labour audit report is empty
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Pressure mounts on Edwin Batshu to release Unions audit report
The Minister of Labour and Home Affairs, Edwin Batshu finds himself pelleted with strong words from union members who want the release of an audit report carried out on various unions in the country to establish if they were complying with requirements of the Societies’ Act.
Recently, concerned members of the Botswana Mine Workers Union (BMWU) wrote a letter (on 8 July 2015) to the minister demanding “a full report as the union will be going for an elective congress during the month of September 2015, so that members can have knowledge of what transpired.”
The letter, authored by the general secretary of the union, Bob Malele futher reads, “Notwithstanding that, we request for a meeting with the minister to motivate the issue whose meeting is proposed for Wednesday 15 July 2015 or Friday 17 July 2015 at your premises…” However the minister did not respond or give the concerned members an audience.
However, the President of the union, Jack Tlhagale on the 13 July 2015, wrote another letter requesting the national executive committee members of the union to urge Malele to withdraw the letter to the Minister: “…I therefore require of you to ask him to withdraw the letter immediately by lunch tomorrow failing which I will address the Minister directly on lack of internal consensus on the meeting being sought,” wrote Tlhagale.
Despite Tlhagale’s intervention, the concerned union members have now written a second letter to the minister in which they thank the minister for invoking powers invested in him by section 49 of the Trade Unions and Employers’ Organisations Act of 2004 to institute investigations into “what we suspect to be misappropriation of union funds and or maladministration at Botswana Mine Workers Union,” reads the letter. They state that it is on this basis that they demanded answers on the outcome of the investigation.
The investigation by the Ministry was headed by the deputy head of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) who was seconded to the Ministry. Union members suspected that the outcome of the audit has been communicated to their leaders and were not sharing it.
However WeekendPost has established that the investigating team came out empty handed across most unions because there is no evidence and there is no filing or documentation that could help inform an investigation, instead, the investigating team could only offer recommendation in regard to filing information and keeping track of members’ subscriptions.
A CASE OF MISSING FUNDS
Further to the Minister’s investigation, BMWU executive instituted another investigation into the use of union funds. The audit was conducted by Ernest & Young Management Services, this came after one of the union employees was found to be involved in fraud activities in connection with union funds.
“The report of the investigation has also been availed to us and its findings are also noted with concern. In addition to the above investigations, the audited financial statements for the year ending the 31st December 2011 and 31st December 2012 were presented to us and the disclaimer opinion by the auditors for both years have also been noted with great concern,” reads the letter to Batshu.
The members wrote that they have observed that generally no financial records of any other signed minutes of the NEC meeting authorising payment as per the requirement of the constitution were kept. They also noted discrepancies in the union’s internal control systems or that no systems were in place at all. In addition there are no adequate backup procedures for the union’s financial payroll systems implemented or maintained. “Despite tax being deducted from employees over the period 2004-2010, no amount was remitted to Botswana Unified Revenue Services (BURS).”
They further state that BURS has requested a detailed breakdown of employees and their remunerations over the period 2004-2010 for which deductions were made but not remitted to BURS, but BMWU is currently unable to provide required information because the information is not there, they state.
“Audited financial statements for the years 2006-2012 were not submitted to the registrar as required by law or were not done at all up until the registrar threatened to deregister the union. They were urgently done by the current NEC albeit with some difficulties in finding relevant information and were submitted towards the end of 2012. It is apparent as stated in the reports that all the above failures or administrative lapses occurred between the years 2004-2010 and escalated to the 2011/12 financial year,” reads the report to Batshu.
In May 2009 about six cheques were removed from the union cheque book and there is no bank statement for the same period. “It is our considered view as members that information was not kept or destroyed deliberately in order to conceal the truth. We believe there was a beneficiary of the missing cheques and that they were obtained fraudulently. We are concerned that our information was not kept in an appropriate manner and in accordance with international best practice.”
The concerned members state that failure to keep records and or submit audited financial statements as required by section 29 and 30 of the Trade Union and Employers’ Organisation Act is by itself an offence punishable under the same Act. BMWU has 8000 plus members, and the multitudes who signed the concern letter to Batshu want action to be taken against those who perpetrated the alleged fraud at the organisation. “If they are in leadership they must be removed and prosecuted,” they charge.
In addition to the misappropriation of funds and the maladministration, the concerned union members allege that they have discovered that union funds were used for personal gain by some individuals and there is also evidence that there is money that went missing at the hands of certain individuals, “…but because of favouritism or maladministration entrenched in our organisation, leadership has failed to take appropriate action to protect union funds,” they wrote.
One of the members is alleged to have defrauded the union over P10 000 during the period 2009 and 2013. “He was only dismissed from work and no criminal case was opened against him.”
“An amount of P51 000 was cashed at Jwaneng branch account after signatures were forged. BMWU cheque was used to cash from this account. The matter was reported to the police but no follow up was ever made by the leadership.
BCL branch leadership failed to account for P10 000 which was given to the branch for administrative purposes. The NEC then instituted investigation which was carried by a private company called Financial Modellers & Business Consultants. After the conclusion of the investigation, the report implicated them on criminal deception over the money. During the investigation period, the concerned office bearers were suspended from office by the NEC, surprisingly they were reinstated immediately after the report was handed to the leadership,” reads part of the detailed letter.
“Having elaborated more on criminal acts, poor administration, lack of corporate governance, non-compliance to laws of the land, favouritism and opportunism bedevilling our organisation, we have decided to stand up as active members to protect our organisation and resources from any further damage by some individual leaders who are not even paying any subscriptions to the union. Subsequently we hereby make an appeal to the Registrar to invoke his powers under section 44 of the Trade Unions and Employers Organisation Act to prosecute and interdict these leaders from holding office and controlling union funds,” they wrote.
When asked to comment on the issues, general secretary, Bob Malele, could not deny or confirm the allegations. He said if there are internal matters they will be addressed at the appropriate forums. As the union prepares for its congress, the financial pitfalls are expected to play a major role in the campaigns and the lobbying.
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Malawi appeals for help over Cyclone Freddy at PAP
As of yesterday evening, the death toll from the Cyclone in Malawi had risen from the initially reported 190 to 225 in a short period of time, over 20 000 people have been displaced, and the worst of fears are yet to come as the fatalities continue to mount. This was reported by a Malawi Member of Parliament attending the Pan African Parliament session in Midrand, South Africa, Hon Steven Mikiya.
Mikiya was giving a statement on behalf of Malawi as the ongoing Pan African Parliament in South Africa.
Mikiya said the Cyclone has wreaked the most havoc in our country’s Southern Region. “The Southern Region, has been hardest hit with widespread heavy rains and strong winds. This caused a rapid rise in water levels and subsequent flooding. Meanwhile, power supply has been disrupted, roads blocked off and rendered impassable and mudslides have also been widely reported,” he said.
He made a special appeal to the PAP: “Where I come from, there is a parable which I would like to share with you which says, “mzako weniweni umamudziwa panthawi ya mavuto.” Simply put, a friend in need is a friend indeed or put loosely, a person who helps at a difficult time is a friend you can rely on.”
Mikiya continued: “Yes! Misfortune has knocked on our door and left in its wake a trail of death and destruction that may take years to fully recover from. However, amidst these difficulties, I have every reason to believe that sometimes when you are in a dark place and think you have been buried, you have actually been planted. My belief, Mr. President, arises out of my faith in this gathering and out of the conviction that it is not coincidental that Cyclone Freddy hit Malawi and Mozambique while the delegations of both countries are here.”
According to Mikiya, the level of destruction, the loss of life, property and the decimation of the entire fabric of established communities has been unprecedented. He noted that all this, is coming at a time when Malawi was starting to show signs of recovery from the deadly COVID-19 pandemic that also came hard on the heels of Cyclone Ana and Cyclone Gombe that left a similar trail of devastation and destruction in Malawi and neighbouring countries.
As of Sunday, this week, from the 12th of March, Malawi and Mozambique have been facing the devastating effects of Cyclone Freddy that made a landfall over Mozambique on Saturday the 11th and reached Malawi by Sunday the 12th of March.
The Malawi legislator said he has absolute faith in the Pan African Parliament, which he described as “a league of nations brought together by a shared ancestry, history, identity as well as our beloved continent which we inhabit”.
Meanwhile, Malawi President, Lazarus Chakwera, has declared a State of Disaster in the affected areas effectively appealing for local and international support for the affected families.
Mikiya appealed to the Pan African Parliament drawing “positive” inspiration from Europe which rallied around Turkey after the destructive earthquakes to bring the much-needed relief and humanitarian aid to the people of Turkey.
He said Africa should demonstrate to the world that the African Union and its Organs are not mere talk shows, but effective institutions which stand up when it matters most.
“Alone, it may take us a lifetime to fully recover, but together, in the Pan-Africanist spirit of Ubuntu, our lives and livelihoods will return to a semblance of normality in record time. This is the time to live by our operative mantra, “One Africa, One Voice.” Mikiya concluded.