Mbonini: Trade unionism doyen dies
FRANCISTOWN: Pall hangs over Botswana’s labour and political movements following the passing on of former councillor for Masunga ward (2014-2019), Elias Mbonini. While Mbonini, 69, will be of recent be remembered by some as the former councillor in the Tati West constituency, he will be equally be remembered as an adept ex-trade unionist who contributed much to the growth and development of trade unionism in Botswana.
Mbonini, who is described by his former colleagues in the trade union movement as a fountain of knowledge in labour issues-passed away in the early hours of July 1, 2021 in Francistown, his daughter Kuda Mbonini confirmed.
His colleague and former Botswana Congress Party (BCP) Organising Secretary, Vain Mamela, hailed Mbonini as a paragon of virtue in the labour and political arenas. Mamela said Mbonini who was also the chairperson of the BCP’s North East Region at his untimely death, passed away-as a hard working person who also used to assist the party with his personal finances for use in various causes. “The death of Comrade Mbonini is not only a great loss to his family and party but the nation as a whole. I personally went to recruit Mbonini after he retired from BCL sometimes around 2001 and he accepted the call. I recruited him because of his great track record in Botswana’s labour politics,” said Mamela. Former Botswana Federation of Trade Unions (BFTU) deputy secretary general in the 1980s, Balekamang Gabasiane remembers Mbonini during their working days at BCL. “I remember Comrade Mbonini when he was the Chairman of Botswana Mine Workers Union (BMWU). Mbonini was a devoted cadre who performed
his union duties with utmost diligence. He was a selfless and result oriented individual.
He was also a very good listener who was however firm and principled... His meaningful contribution in Botswana’s trade union landscape paved way for government to ratify the right to negotiate and to organise as espoused by the International Labour Organisation (ILO),” Gabasiane reminisced. Another trade unionist, Edward Tswaipe also extolled Mbonini’s contribution in the struggle for workers’ rights in Botswana and Southern Africa. “The death of Mbonini is a great loss to his family, political party and the country.
He and the late Ditiro Saleshando were amongst a group of workers who joined trade unions in order to genuinely serve the interests of employees and not for financial rewards. Mbonini was also instrumental in the formation of the Southern Africa Coordination Council (SATUCC) together with the late Prime Minister of Zimbabwe Morgan Tsvangirai and President of Zambia Frederick Chiluba amongst others. Mbonini was the epitome of trade unionism and his loss is irreplaceable,” Tswaipe said. Meanwhile, Mbonini’s colleagues at BMWU fondly remember him as an industrious man of many names such as “Boy Masunga”, “Savimbi” and “Chief”, a word he liked to use when greeting his colleagues... A communique from BMWU said Mbonini started off as an ordinary member of the union in the 1970s. He then moved up the ranks to become the Branch Secretary of Selebi-Phikwe in 1983. As Secretary of the Branch, Mbonini was at the coal face of promoting and protecting workers’ rights. He was involved in the handling of cases, dispute resolution and collective bargaining amongst other things. “During Mbonini’s era, trade union positions were voluntary and unpaying.
This did not however deter Cde Mbonini and his compatriots from going to the union’s office on a daily basis after knocking off from work to attend to members’ issues. That was commitment at the highest level. In 1985, Comrade Mbonini was elected president of the BMWU taking over from Cde Matlhoame who had just retired,” said the communique. In that same year, Mbonini was elected as president of the Botswana Federation of Trade Union (BFTU).
His elevation meant that he then had to superintendent two organisations with the assistance of his executive and staff. He remained in those positions until he left his employment at BCL in 2000... but thereafter, just like his colleagues at SATUCC, he continued to drive the social and economic agenda of the country by joining BCP. Some of Mbonini’s notable achievements, the communique adds, include the establishment of the Industrial Court in Botswana, establishment of Botswana National Productivity Centre (BNPC) amongst others. The secretary general of BFTU, Thusang Butale also hailed Mbonini’s contribution to the country’s trade unionism. “The demise of Comrade Elias Bose Mbonini is not only a loss to his family but a multiple blow to the movement of change and to the cause of the working people in particular.
To be precise, he was in many respects the heartbeat of the labour movement in Botswana and the region in terms of its history. His contribution through BFTU and direct involvement in the founding of the SATUCC has been incredibly immeasurable at its inception in the eighties,” said Butale.
It is worth mentioning, Butale noted, that Mbonini was part of the few remaining crop of trade unionists who were products of the national trade union education centre who inspired commitment and informed to drive for the betterment of life in the workplace and the wider political liberation movement in what was to be known as the Frontline States otherwise now the SADC region.
“Mbonini joined the trade union movement in the mid-1970s when he became a member of BMWU. In 1978, he was elected Vice Branch Secretary of the Selibe-Phikwe and became the Branch Secretary in 1983. As part of the branch executive, he was very active in the promotion and protection of workers’ rights, organising, handling cases and disputes as well as collective bargaining,” Butale remembers. He added: “It must be remembered that these were times when employers were mostly white South Africans who had no respect for labour laws and rode roughshod over workers’ rights. Government was also very lax in calling them to order and sometimes actively supported them. Union activism at the time resulted in possible loss of advancement at work due to misconceptions that one was anti-establishment... In 1985 he was elected president of the Union as well as the president of the BFTU.”