Cabinet blocks Cllrs’ 5% increment 

Botswana Association of Local Authorities (BALA) members, the councillors were left disappointed on Wednesday when Minister of Local Government and Rural Development (MGLRD) Kgotla Autlwetse announced that the councillors would not get a five percent salary adjustment in this financial year. Autlwetse, who was seemingly not calm but under pressure to deliver the government position owing to councilors’ demand for an adjustment noted that the cabinet has decided not to endorse BALA proposal He made the announcement during MLGRD and BALA consultative meeting in Gaborone which had drawn legions of councillors from across 31 district and town councils to discuss issues affecting BALA. “I have been engaging with the cabinet about the five percent salary adjustment demand from BALA for councillors, but the Cabinet has recently taken a decision not to endorse it. The reasons advanced and we all know are that the economy is not doing well as there is a fall in government revenues,” he said. Autlwetse implored councillors not to despair and view the government as the enemy, adding that the cabinet also took a decision that there will be no salary adjustment for their counterparts at Parliament. 

He also said the councillors should practice the spirit of patriotism and lead by example to support the government on decisions that it takes to manage the funds amidst tough current economic conditions. 

“As your Minister, I can admit that councillors renumeration is not the best and it should be reviewed from time to time as we have made some adjustment in the past financial years including 2023. We do benchmark from our SADC and findings are that Botswana councillors, MPs and even the President are the most least paid as compared to our SADC counterparts. We wish this can change,” said Autlwetse. 

The councillors while responding to Autlwetse expressed concern that their salary adjustments always don’t happen smoothly as compared to that of MPs, Members of Ntlo ya Dikgosi and the civil servants. Although they appreciate the current financial situation that the government finds itself in aided by a significant decline in sales of rough diamonds (49 percent down), councillors vowed to fight for a hike. 

BALA 

For her part, BALA President councillor Florah Mpetsane said BALA appreciates the support from the government but said it is important to ensure that the welfare of councillors is prioritized going forward. 

Mpetsane also said BALA would continue to advocate better conditions of service for the councillors. 

“We have sent a proposal containing our demands in relation to the welfare and benefits of councillors to the Secretary of the Standing Committee for the renumeration of MPs and the Members of Ntlo ya Dikgosi. But, we haven’t received feedback at all whether it has been accepted or not,” said Mpetsane. Mpetsane said councils are still waiting to be furnished with the Public Private Partnerships (PPP) policy and guidelines framework from the Ministry of Finance which long promised to finalise it but to no avail. 

BALA said the absence of the PPP policy is detrimental to the growth of councils as they cannot be able to attract better and bigger developments under the PPP model that can boost councils’ revenues and service delivery to the public. However, Autlwetse promised me to follow up with the finance minister. 

Councils Broke 

Meanwhile, Autlwetse admitted that councillors across the country are not operating efficiently because of financial challenges and are operating at deficit, urging them to use the little money they have wisely. 

He attributed part of the financial struggles faced by the councils to the upgrading of some sub district councils into fully fledged independent districts, adding that the process was highly capital intensive. 

“The government is aware of the financial struggles faced by councils. The reason behind is that there has been a significant decline in the Revenue Support Grant which avails money for the administration of the councils. Government is doing its best to financially support councils given its tight budget,” he said. Also, Autlwetse said the ministry has taken a deliberate cost saving exercise and wants the councils to cut down spending on the benchmarking and retreat trips that are done both locally and internationally. 

He also indicated that the councils should also desist from procuring expensive vehicles for mayors and chairpersons, buttressing that air travel for the senior council leadership has been stopped immediately