Scarce skill debate rekindled

FRANCISTOWN: Labour commentators and trade unionists have weighed in on the scarce skill incentive debate. The scarce skills allowance was introduced in 2008 to enable government to attract and retain expertise deemed to be scarce.

It was a product of recommendations of a study undertaken out by the Botswana Institute for Development Policy Analysis (BIDPA) in 2007. When it was introduced, its annual cost was over P530 million. The costs have inevitably escalated owing to various reasons such as hiring of new people by government.

There have been calls that the scarce skill should be reviewed. Those backing the review of the scarce skill believe that the labour market for some cadres that were considered scarce such as IT and accounting have since become gravely saturated.

The other argument is that if the scarce skill incentive is reviewed and some cadres are cut out, there will be more resources from government to absorb more unemployed graduates roaming the streets.

Yesterday, labour expert Molwa Tshekiso who is the owner and managing consultant at Employment Solutions Pty Ltd, emphasised that it is important for government to revisit the original rationale for introducing the scarce skill incentive and determine whether it is necessary to alter it.

Tshekiso has vast experience in devising strategies for employee retention and attraction with particular emphasis on key as well as highly mobile employees. He is also the former head of human resources department at Diamond Trading Company Botswana (DTCB).

“It is important to review the scarce skill incentive and establish whether it has achieved or is achieving its objective, or it is achieving the objective in all fields currently in scope, if not why?” he said. Tshekiso added that it is through a thorough review that the justification for inclusion or exclusion of other fields as scarce skill can be made.

“In short, I believe there is a good reason to review the scarce skill incentive and classification for relevancy, adequacy and impact as the employment market dynamics have really changed since its introduction,” Tshekiso said.

This week in an interview with one of the local radio stations, Member of Parliament (MP) for Molepolole North, Oabile Regoeng called on the government to revisit the scarce skills classification. He was also of the view that reviewing of the scarce skill classification will help create a budget that will be used to absorb more unemployed graduates into work. Trade unions have often been accused of being reluctant to engage in the debate calling for the review of the scarce skill incentive because it is a sensitive matter that can offend their members.

However, Botswana Federation of Public, Private and Parstatal Sector Unions (BOFEPUSU) president, Johnson Tshukudu welcomed the idea of reviewing the scarce skill incentive. “Scarce skill allowance cannot be scrapped off. The intention was to reward skills that are not available in the country’s human resource. Our position therefore, would be to review the current policy on scarce skills given the current human resource development in the country.

The review report would advise the way forward,” Tshukudu told Mmegi in an interview. Botswana Public Employees Union (BOPEU) general secretary, Topias Marenga said the issue of scarce skills is an important and delicate one. “There are recommendations from the PEMANDU Consultancy, which if adopted and implemented would have by now addressed this issue. One of which is the review of the pay structure and move to clean pay.

If for example, an employee who gets 40% scarce skills allowance gets his allowance incorporated to his/her salary then this will enhance salary pay and invariably the pension.

We are really for this type of approach,” Marenga said. PEMANDU is a Malaysian firm that was engaged by government to review government salaries and transformation of the public service.