BLLAHWU accuses Ministry of neglecting Fire Services
The management of the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development has failed to convene consultative meetings with Unions to discuss employee grievances to enhance industrial relations.
Botswana Land Boards, Local Authorities and Health Workers Union ( BLLAHWU) SecretaryGeneral, Ketlhalefile Motshegwa told Botswana Guardian following Assistant Minister Mabuse Pule’s COVID- 19 Update on Tuesday that this has led to erosion of employees’ morale and negatively affects productivity and service delivery.
Pule, who is also MP for Mochudi East Constituency said on Tuesday that the Ministry has developed its five- year Strategy and Transformation Plan, which is aligned to President Mokgweetsi Masisi’s Reset Agenda and Vision 2036.
The plan is anchored on six pillars, one of which provides for efficient services and municipal infrastructure at 16 local authorities.
He said the Department of Fire Services remains a key component of Municipal Infrastructure, given that infrastructure development determines the size and destination of investment and tourism inflows at any given time, hence the need to cater for this emergency service.
Through Local Authorities, the Ministry operates 20 fire stations and sub fire stations across the 16 local authorities with a total staff compliment of 1318 and an annual budget of just over P1.1 million for installation and maintenance of fire hydrants.
BLLAHWU feels that the Ministry is one of the poor performers and accuses it of not carrying out the said strategy and transformation plan.
“This is clearly attributed to weak or absent political leadership, docile, uninspiring, and incompetent ministry management,” Motshegwa said, adding that what the Assistant Minister tells the public is contrary to what is prevailing on the ground.
“All initiatives have failed including amongst others, the past strategic plan. Nothing on the ground shows the so- called new strategic plan.
“The Minister and his Assistant have never met the Unions despite constant requests to do so,” Motshegwa said, adding that the Decentralisation policy process and the restructuring process have dismally failed.
Recently the Union has been complaining of a shortage of equipment for firefighters, thereby causing some to share breathing apparatus during response times.
This week the Assistant Minister admitted that in some isolated cases, firefighters share breathing apparatus. He was, however, quick to state that local authorities adhere to COVID- 19 health protocols including disinfection of equipment used by the response teams.
Motshegwa on the other hand says that what they know is that this does not happen in isolated cases, but that firefighters share breathing apparatus in all fire stations.
What is evident to the Union is that there is poor planning, poor coordination within the Ministry, and nothing ongoing about resetting.
“There is no transformation going on, and instead the Ministry is getting worse.
The way things are, the Ministry doesn’t value the role of Fire Services Department, that is why there are so many unresolved worker grievances, some ranging from as far back as five to 10 years”.
Motshegwa said there is just a lack of commitment and will to close outstanding issues.
“Some of these matters have now been taken to Labour, others to court, and Government will be losing lots of money because of the incompetence of ministry management, and again they don’t care because it’s not their money”.
According to Motshegwa, fire stations are understaffed. That is why officers are made to work long or prolonged hours beyond working hours, something that is against employment law.
He said Dumela Fire station in Francistown, for example, has no employees but is operating with employees from another Fire station, while employees at Tutume Fire station attend fire outbreaks in another district in North East.
The Assistant Minister stated that indeed the North East District does not have a fire station.
Motshegwa also complains that Fire Officers perform paramedic and ambulance services which are not within their job description but are not compensated for that.
“The officers are not assisted with water and relevant liquids because when at operations they lose lots of body liquids because of the nature of the job”.
While Assistant Minister Pule said the ministry has acquired a total of 209 breathing apparatus across the country, Motshegwa said Fire stations are under- equipped with backplates, oxygen cylinders, and have a serious shortage of personal protection equipment, for example, face masks.
“Because of shortages, employees end up sharing them which smacks in the face of occupational safety and health. Even basic things like sanitisers are in short supply,” Motshegwa said, adding that the workplace has become dangerous for employees.
Motshegwa said they are also worried that so far, there are no vaccine arrangements for firefighters although they work and share a place of work with Emergency Medical Services who have been vaccinated.