PARLIAMENT PASSES BDF AMENDMENT BILL Parliament has approved the Botswana Defence Force (Amendment) Bill which seeks to amend section 18 of the BDF Act. The one clause Bill which was presented to the House by the Minister of Defence, Justice and Security Mr Dikgakgamatso Seretse seeks to allow for the enlistment of the members of the Regular Force on a permanent and pensionable basis. “We amend so that we go back to the permanent and pensionable with regards to benefits, this will be recognised as members of the fund proper. We have had lots of engagements with those who dealt with the fund and told us it would not be applicable if it was based on contracts, they ultimately agreed that for those that are already there would be considered bona fide members of the fund because there were not aware of that particular provision,” he added. The minister said section 18 of the Act had introduced an initial contract of engagement for a period of 10 years. Prior to these appointment enlistments, members of the BDF were on a permanent and pensionable basis. He explained that the amendment was made some time back which introduced the new contracts. When debating the Bill Francistown South MP Mr Wynter Mmolotsi said he supported the long awaited amendment. He said working conditions of all other public service employees was vital and poor conditions contributed much as a source of unhappiness. He pleaded with the minister to hasten to attend to other grievances. MP for Kgatleng West Mr Gilbert Mangole supported the amended Bill but asked the minister to clarify on what purported them to amend. He cautioned that the new clause should not clash with the initial arrangements. For his part Selebi Phikwe West MP Mr Gilson Saleshando said the amendment was a welcome development if it seeks to better working conditions. He however asked the minister to consider holistic approaches as sectional amendments would not help the current situation of workers plight. The current enlistment of the BDF Regular Force conflicts with the rules and regulations of the Botswana Public Officers Pension Fund (BPOPF), only members hired on a permanent and pensionable terms are eligible to join the BPOPF whereas the BDF Act section 18 (1) provided for enlistment of its members of the Regular Force for an initial contract of ten years. The subsection has been substituted to allow for a new subsection, “A soldier enlisted in the Regular Force shall be on a permanent and pensionable terms,” (BOPA)
Posted on: Sat, 26 Jul 2014 18:52:21 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015