Botswana’s Beef Industry Under Threat

A storm is brewing at the Ministry of Agriculture’s Department of Veterinary Services (DVS) where veterinary surgeons are a frustrated lot. Poor appreciation of their work, little room for progression and poor leadership are prominent among causes of their frustrations. A group of vet surgeons there has told The Business Weekly & Review that they want Batswana to understand that compared to other countries, they are unappreciated in Botswana. [ihc-hide-content ihc_mb_type="show" ihc_mb_who="1,2,3,4" ihc_mb_template="3" ] Speaking on conditions of anonymity for fear of reprisals, one of them stated: “Globally entry requirements for a veterinary school are higher than they are for human medical training. “It is only in Botswana where vets’ progress in government employ is slower than it is for human medics.” To make matters worse, the government recently informed vets of its decision to stop paying them a 15 percent commuted overtime allowance that the Acting Director of Veterinary Services, Kefentse Motshegwa, said had been erroneously paid all along. “I therefore advise you that this allowance will no longer be paid to you with effect from 1 st of September 2022,” Motshegwa wrote in a letter to the vets that The Business Weekly & Review is in possession of. Commuted allowances The cessation of the commuted overtime allowance came almost four years of vets receiving it. The previous director, Letlhogile Modisa, had approved its payment. In a letter dated 11 February 2019, Modisa stated: “Addressees are informed that all veterinary medicine officers will earn 15 percent overtime allowance with effect from 1 st of March 2019.” Already, vets say they are in short supply in Botswana and that the discontinuation of their allowance will only make the dearth worse. “The letters don’t state what happens when the commuted allowance is stopped,” said another veterinary officer in the group, adding that this was done without prior consultation with them. But perhaps a greater concern beyond their personal grievances is their fear that the latest developments are likely to have a huge impact on control of animal diseases like Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD), an outbreak of which recently gripped the North East District that lies along Botswana’s frontier with Zimbabwe. Threat “Botswana is surrounded by FMD in Zimbabwe, South Africa and Zambia and cattle lung sickness in Namibia. This means we have to work harder to keep these diseases and others out of Botswana. Without overtime allowance and clear leadership, the livestock industry is under threat” said yet another vet in the group who added that they wish the government would appoint a more competitive director to lead their department. This is because, as they stated, they have lost confidence in the Acting Director, Motshegwa, referencing to a recent radio interview in which he said he was waiting for Cabinet approval to make a decision regarding control of the FMD in the North East District. “The law empowers him, but he is saying o emetse bagolo (waiting for cabinet). This shows the current acting is failing us,” said another vet. The Diseases of Animals Act states that the Director may, by order published in the Gazette, declare any area to be an infected area as regards any disease named in such an order, extend, diminish or otherwise alter the limits of an infected area, and declare an infected area to be free from disease. In addition, for the purpose of preventing disease, the Director may prohibit the movement into or out of any infected area of any animal, carcass, litter, dung or fodder, except under a permit issued by a veterinary officer. Fear for the worst “The European Union (EU) audit is coming, and with these issues at hand, I fear for the worst,” said the veterinary surgeon. Asked if they have raised their concerns with the authorities, the concerned officers said they have done so over the years but to no avail. “We have sponsored parliamentary questions through former Member of Parliament for Mahalapye West, Joseph Molefe, and quite recently with Shoshong legislator, Aubrey Lesaso, before he was appointed to the cabinet.” Lesaso raised the questions in December last year. He asked the Minister of Agricultural Development and Food Security if he was aware that veterinary surgeons are graded lower than their medical counterparts in terms of entry point, progression and departmental leadership (Director of DVS is at E1 vs Director of Medical Services at F2) despite the fact that entry requirements into a veterinary school are always higher than those for a medical school. He also asked how many veterinary surgeons were employed in the DVS, the rate at which surgeons were leaving the department and the reasons for their departure. Further, Lesaso wanted to know if there was a shortage of veterinary surgeons in Botswana, and if so, what could be the cause of the shortage. In response, the then Assistant Minister of Agricultural Development and Food Security, Beauty Manake, said there were 72 veterinary surgeons employed by DVS. Between 2010 and 2021, 16 surgeons left the department to join institutions like the Botswana Defence Force (BDF), the Botswana Medicines Regulatory Authority (BoMRA), and the Botswana University of Agriculture and Natural Resources (BUAN). Not enough vets Manake admitted that there was a shortage of veterinary surgeons in the country. Significantly, she noted that the number of available surgeons did not fulfil the requirements of the World Organisation for Animal Health. to have 150 surgeons in the country. The then junior minister also acknowledged that there was a problem within the ministry, especially its organisational structure. “From what I understand,” Manake said, “in the past there used to be parallel progression in which we saw a lot of veterinary officers able to progress.” One vet in the group noted: “Honourable Lesaso was telling the truth. Not only are they disgruntled, they have no motivation because there is no succession plan.” Upon being contacted, Acting Director Motshegwa, referred this publication to the ministry’s Public Relations Unit. The incumbent Minister of Agriculture, Fidelis Molao, said he is not aware of any complaints by the surgeons. “If there were officers in my ministry who had genuine complaints that they wanted to be addressed, they would have approached my office for redress but no one has,” Minister Molao said. [/ihc-hide-content]

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Botswana’s Beef Industry Under Threat

Botswana could find it difficult to fight animal afflictions like the contagious Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) that recently broken out in the North East District. This is because in addition to a shortage of veterinary surgeons in the country, those available are frustrated

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Botswana’s Beef Industry Under Threat

Botswana could find it difficult to fight animal afflictions like the contagious Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) that recently broken out in the North East District. This is because in addition to a shortage of veterinary surgeons in the country, those available are frustrated

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