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GCC Employees to Petition Khama? |
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 They Accuse the Council of Malpractice
Some disgruntled Gaborone City Council (GCC) employees say they will petition President Lieutenant General Seretse Khama Ian Khama if the Council fails to address their concerns.
The concerned employees are accusing GCC officials of malpractice after money was allegedly deducted from their wages.
The employees say they were written letters telling them that they had been re-designated to other positions by former city clerk, Mr. Kutlwano Matenge, who has been transferred to the Selibe Phikwe Town Council.
In a letter dated 28th September 2007 addressed to one of the employees, Matenge stated that, “in line with Unified Local Government Services Management Directive No.11 of 2007 dated 7th September 2007, you are hereby re-designated Care Taker III and assimilated to B5 (P75.40-89.85) effective 1st September 2007.” The letter requested the Council treasurer to make the necessary adjustment to reflect the new wage.
The employees, who are general duty assistants in various community centres, told The Gazette this week that they had long called on the Council to show its sincerity by solving the ongoing salary dispute.
They alleged that the money deducted from their salaries was not transferred into the City Council’s coffers; they suspected that “some senior officials lined their pockets with our money.”
In response to the employees’ queries, a letter signed by one Mr. L.I. Leonard, reads in part, “it has been realized that you were erroneously re-designated Caretaker III and assimilated to scale B5, i.e. P89.85 effective 1st September 2007. Consequently, this resulted in overpayment to yourself amounting to P1178.20, which, unfortunately, has to be recovered.”
Asked to shed light on the issue, Leonard declined to comment saying he only acted on behalf of the Town Clerk.
Contacted for comment, Deputy Town Clerk Ditlhogo Mmualefhe said he was in the dark and referred The Gazette to the Council’s Human Resource officer, Mr. Tebogo Mongala. Mongala said he was aware of the employees’ complaint and said he was shocked that money had been deducted from the employees’ wages.
“This office is the one that should instruct the Council treasury to effect deductions. But we have not done that as we were waiting for a meeting by the management to address the affected employees on how best they can refund the Council,” he said.
He conceded that the council had made a mistake by assimilating the employees in question. He explained that the issue was not promotion but erroneous re-designation and assimilation.
The employees insist that the Council should shoulder the blunder.
“We took up the issue with the department of Local Government Services. Now we want President Khama to intervene in this issue because we believe that some people are deducting our money and using it for their personal benefit,” said Cecilia Nkomo, one of the employees.
BY KHONANI ONTEBETSE
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