Former BDF Commander, Major General Gaolathe Galebotswe has warned serving and retired soldiers that the alleged recalculation of Botswana Defence Force (BDF) pensions promised by President Mokgweetsi Masisi in 2019 does not hold much for them. In his 2019 commitment to the soldiers, Masisi promised to ensure their net replacement ratio would be 75 percent or better. “When addressing soldiers in the barracks in 2019, President Masisi assured soldiers that their net replacement ratio would be improved to 75 percent or better. He is on record saying this,” Galebotswe told The Patriot on Sunday reiterating that Masisi has failed to fulfil the promise and will never do that.
According to a statement released by government, “Calculations of pension benefits will be employing the same mathematical formulae that were established and used in 2001 when transfer values were calculated by DPSM and its Actuaries, except that this time the denominator will be n/375 instead of n/450.”
But according to Galebotswe: “Anything that seeks to address the plight of the military retirees and fails to guarantee them a decent monthly pension is not worth writing home about. This is one such exercise.This is just an attempt which falls far short of addressing the problem of destitution for military retirees.”
Galebotswe remains adamant that the injustices caused by the migration of the BDF pension fund to the Botswana Public Officers Pension Fund (BPOPF) have been ignored and stil remain.
“There has been no discussion about the financial hardships that retired soldiers who couldn’t afford to purchase an annuity face. There’s a lack of conversation about any corrective actions to address these issues. The problem isn’t just about recalculating figures; it also involves considering lower-ranked retirees whose net replacement ratio fell significantly below the minimum pension standards, leaving them in tough economic situation,” Galebotswe said. According to him, this concern was once raised by the Accountant General who confirmed that the net replacement ratio for the military, particularly non-commissioned officers, is 25 percent, compared to the industry recommendation of 75 percent in the formal sector. “Some soldiers did not join the pension scheme because their take-home pay was already too low. It is the government’s policy that led to these issues, and thus, it is the government’s responsibility to rectify them,” he stated.
Meanwhile, anticipating that the veteran soldiers were going to respond, the Ministry of Defence and Security in the same statement warned the public and affected parties “against agents who might be trying through misinformation to cause unnecessary distress to beneficiaries of this exercise.” It is understood that the political leadership has rejected all advice from technocrats to engage with all parties involved equally to avert long-standing tensions and divisions. “We have made numerous attempts to advise the authorities to handle this matter thoughtfully because our main concern is that egos are undermining this noble initiative. Concerns that the association led by Generals is undermined are valid. It is true that they only see statements and public pronouncements about a matter concerning them,” said a highly placed source at the Ministry.
When asked recently on whether they have engaged the parties in court, the Minister, Kagiso Mmusi said if the Generals feel the court is the best way to engage, then they cannot force them to abandon their court case.