As the cost of living continues to soar, the government is under mounting pressure to adjust public servants’ salaries in line with inflation.
At the heart of ongoing negotiations between the government and public sector unions is a demand for inflation-aligned wage increases. Experts say this adjustment is not just necessary — it’s long overdue.
Professor Motsomi Ndala Marobela, an independent research consultant specializing in leadership, governance, and labor, said the talks are taking place against a backdrop of severe socio-economic pressures faced by ordinary Batswana.
“Citizens are battling daily to make ends meet. These negotiations must result in salary increases,” Marobela said.
Government, however, has raised alarm over the sustainability of its finances, warning of a looming liquidity crisis that could affect its ability to pay public servants’ salaries in June. But Marobela dismissed this claim as disingenuous.
“There is a perceived gap between what the leadership says and what happens in practice,” he said.
He criticized what he called the government’s misaligned priorities, arguing that trade unions are right to demand wage hikes given the state’s current spending patterns.
For example, Marobela pointed out that military expenditure accounts for 3 percent of Botswana’s economic output — funds he believes would be better spent on public sector salaries.
“Trade unions need to be convinced why the government is splashing millions on the army and the DIS when we are at peace,” he said.
He also questioned the government’s slow pace in implementing fiscal reforms to address current revenue shortfalls, particularly in areas like education and healthcare. Marobela expressed concern over the cost of continued foreign travel by top government officials, which he said is diverting resources away from vital domestic programs.
To ease fiscal pressure without harming lower-income civil servants, Marobela proposed capping the salaries of senior government officials, including ministers, permanent secretaries, and directors.
“The government must walk the talk by offering real financial remedies — cutting wasteful spending, especially at the presidential and ministerial levels,” he said.
He also acknowledged that salary negotiations can be a drawn-out process, with breaks being necessary when consensus cannot be reached. These breaks, he said, allow both parties to regroup and return with fresh mandates and perspectives.
The current negotiations between the Directorate of Public Service Management and the “Six Plus One” coalition of trade unions — including BOPEU, the Botswana Teachers Union, the Botswana Nurses Union, the Botswana Land Boards Local Authorities and Health Workers Union, the National Amalgamated Local and Central Government and Parastatal Workers Union, and the Botswana Doctors Union — began on May 20 and are still ongoing.
