CHAPTER 26:01
PUBLIC SERVICE
ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS
PART I
Preliminary
PART II
Public Service Structure
4. Public Service Structure
PART III
Composition of the Public Service
PART IV
General Public Service Principles and Standards
6. Public officers 'conduct standards
7. Human resource management standards
PART V
Administration of the Public Service
8. Head of the Public Service
9. Permanent Secretaries 'functions
10. Heads of Departments
11. Director of Public Service Management
12. Directions of the President
PART VI
Appointments to the Public Service
14. Entry and advancement
15. Powers of appointment
16. Delegation of powers
17. Criteria for appointment
18. Disqualification for appointment
19. Appointment of Permanent Secretary to the President and Permanent Secretaries, etc.
20. Appointments to the National Assembly, etc.
21. Appointment of non-citizens
25. Date of promotion
PART VII
Termination of Appointments and Retirement
26. Termination of appointments
28. Retirement of public officers
29. Retirement on medical grounds
PART VIII
Public Officers General Provisions
31. General conditions of work
32. Fees for official services
33. Emoluments not to be ceded
34. Publications, interviews and use of official information
PART IX
Misconduct and Unsatisfactory Service
36. General definition of misconduct
37. Particular types of misconduct
39. Disciplinary proceedings for misconduct
40. Punishments for misconduct
PART X
Settlement of Disputes
PART XI
Freedom of Association for Public Officers
45. Right to join union
46. Recognition of public officers 'unions
PART XII
Industrial Action
47. Strikes by management
48. Lawful strikes, etc.
49. Certain strikes or lockouts not permitted
PART XIII
Collective Bargaining in the Public Sector
50. Establishment of Bargaining Council
51. Constitution of Council
52. Formation of Council
53. Functions of Council
54. Bargaining councils in the public service
55. Jurisdiction of Sectoral Bargaining Councils
56. Political activities of bargaining councils
57. Rights of trade union parties to the Council
58. Disclosure of information
PART XIV
Offences and Penalties
59. Influencing an appointing authority
60. Supplying false information
61. Improperly influencing an appointing authority
62. Supplying false information to commission
PART XV
Miscellaneous
64. Amendment of Schedule
67. Savings and transitional
Act 13, 1998,
Act 14, 2000,
Act 15, 2005,
Act 30, 2008,
S.I. 19, 2010.
An Act to re-enact with amendments the provisions relating to the public service of Botswana and matters incidental thereto and connected therewith.
[Date of Commencement:1st May, 2010]
PART I
Preliminary (ss 1-3)
This Act may be cited as the Public Service Act.
(1) In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires—
"appointing authority" means any person in whom the power to appoint, remove from office or exercise disciplinary control in terms of this Act vests;
"appointment" includes a transfer, a promotion, a temporary appointment and an acting appointment;
"citizen" means a citizen of Botswana;
"Commissioner" means the Commissioner of Labour;
"Committee of Selection" has the meaning assigned to it by the Standing Orders of the National Assembly;
"Director" means the Director of Public Service Management appointed under section 11;
"employee" means any person who has entered into a contract of employment for the hire of his or her labour in terms of this Act;
"employer" means the Government in respect of all of its officers except members of the Botswana Defence Force, the Botswana Police Service, the Local Police Service, and the Prison Service;
"Head of Department" means the head of a government department other than an extra ministerial department;
"National Vision" means any long term vision for Botswana;
"non-citizen" means a person who is not a citizen of Botswana;
"promotion" means the appointment of a public officer to a higher public office with an increase or potential increase of salary;
"public officer" means a person holding or acting in any public office, and being an employee to whom this Act applies;
"senior management" means those persons in the public service, who are appointed by the Permanent Secretary to the President (PSP) or the President, as the case may be;
"strike" means the cessation of work by a body of employees acting in combination or under a common understanding or a concerted refusal or a refusal under a common understanding by such body of employees to continue to work;
"supervising officer", in relation to an employee, means the public officer designated, or delegated, under this Act, to supervise and exercise disciplinary control over that employee;
"transfer" means the appointment of an employee to another public office with or without an adjustment to his or her salary.
(2) For the purposes of the public service and section 112 of the Constitution, "Permanent Secretary" means the holder of the public office of that designation responsible, subject to the directions and control of the Minister, for the supervision of a Ministry, and includes the holders of the public offices listed in the Schedule to this Act.
(3) For the purposes of this Act, "the Permanent Secretary" means the holder of the public office of that designation responsible, subject to the directions and control of the Minister, for the administration of a Ministry or department and includes—
(a) the Attorney-General in respect of the Attorney-General's Chambers;
(b) the Auditor-General in respect of the Auditor-General's Office;
(c) the Clerk of the National Assembly in respect of the offices of the National Assembly;
(d) the Registrar of the High Court in respect of the staff of the High Court and the Magistracy; and
(e) the Registrar of the Industrial Court in respect of the staff of the Industrial Court.
The provisions of this Act shall not apply to members of the—
(a) Botswana Defence Force;
(b) Botswana Police Service;
(c) Local Police Service; and
(d) Prison Service.
PART II
Public Service Structure (s 4)
4. Public Service Structure
(1) The public service of Botswana shall consist of such ministries, departments and public offices as the President may constitute in terms of section 56 of the Constitution as read with sections 50(4) and 52 thereof.
(a) Ministry shall be under the control and direction of the Minister to whom the President has assigned it in terms of section 50(4) of the Constitution;
(b) Ministry shall be under the administrative supervision of a Permanent Secretary; and
(c) Department shall, save where otherwise specified, be under the administrative supervision of a Head of Department.
PART III
Composition of the Public Service (s 5)
(1) The public service shall consist of persons who—
(a) hold posts on the fixed establishment in any Government Ministry or Department;
(b) immediately before the coming into force of this Act were employed in terms of the Public Service Act (Cap. 26:01) repealed by this Act;
(c) immediately before the commencement of this Act were part of the Teaching Service, including teachers in Government schools and persons who held Government aided posts in private schools;
(d) immediately before the commencement of this Act were part of the Unified Local Government Service or Land Board Service;
(e) are employed temporarily or under a special contract, within a Government Ministry or Department;
(f) immediately before the commencement of this Act, were industrial employees remunerated by Government.
(2) All posts established in terms of the Public Service Act, the Regulations for Industrial Employees, the Teaching Service Act, the Tribal Land Act and the Unified Local Government Service Act and existing immediately before the commencement of this Act shall, except where it is clearly inappropriate, be deemed to have been established under this Act.
(3) All persons who were employed in terms of the Public Service Act, the Regulations for Industrial Employees, the Teaching Service Act (Cap. 62:01), the Tribal Land Act (Cap. 32:02) and the Unified Local Government Service Act (Cap. 40:06) immediately before the commencement of this Act shall, except where it is clearly inappropriate, be deemed to have been employed under this Act and the provisions of this Act shall apply to them.
(4) A person who was employed in terms of the Public Service Act, the Regulations for Industrial Employees, the Teaching Service Act, the Tribal Land Act or the Unified Local Government Service Act immediately before the commencement of this Act shall not be subject to any condition of service which is less favourable to him or her than any similar condition which applied to him or her before this Act came into force.
(5) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (4), any person who was employed in terms of the Acts and Regulations referred to in subsections (1) to (4) immediately before the coming into force of this Act shall not—
(a) publicly speak or demonstrate for or against any politician or political party;
(b) be an active member of, nor hold office in, any political party;
(c) publish his or her views on political matters in writing; or
(d) hold a parliamentary seat or hold a political office in any local government body, except where the office is held ex-officio.
(6) Any person who is excluded, under section 110(1) of the Constitution, from the public service shall not, for purposes of this Act, be considered part of the public service.
(7) For the purposes of this section
"aided post" means any post in a private school in respect of which, in the opinion of the Minister, the salary attached to the post should be paid, wholly or partly, from public funds; and
"Government school" means a school managed by the Ministry responsible for education and skills development, and the Ministry responsible for local government.
PART IV
General Public Service Principles and Standards (ss 6-7)
6. Public officers' conduct standards
(1) In addition to the principles set out in the National Vision, in the Public Service Charter and any other code of conduct for public officers, every public officer shall—
(a) provide effective and efficient service to the public and to Government and endeavour to give their best to meet performance standards and other organisational requirements;
(b) utilise Government resources at their disposal in an efficient, responsible and accountable manner; and
(c) continuously improve their performance in delivering services.
7. Human resource management standards
In making decisions in respect of the appointment, or other matters affecting human resource management, every appointing authority and every supervising officer shall-—
(a) have regard, primarily, to the effectiveness and efficiency of the public service;
(b) prevent nepotism and patronage;
(c) treat employees fairly and shall not subject any employee to any arbitrary or capricious administrative decision;
(d) afford every employee a reasonable avenue of redress against any improper or unreasonable administrative decision;
(e) not discriminate against any employee on the basis of sex, race, tribe, place of origin, national extraction, social origin, colour, creed, political opinion, marital status, health status, disability, pregnancy or any other ground, nor discriminate against any person seeking employment in the public service on any such ground.
PART V
Administration of the Public Service (ss 8-12)
8. Head of the Public Service
(1) The Permanent Secretary to the President shall be the head of the public service and shall, subject to the Constitution and this Act, be responsible for the administration of the public service.
(2) The Permanent Secretary to the President may make rules or regulations or give instructions for managing the conduct of the public service.
(3) Any rules or regulations made, or instructions given, in terms of subsection (2) shall not be inconsistent with the provisions of this Act and shall be complied with by all public officers.
(4) Notwithstanding the generality of the provisions of subsection (1), the Permanent Secretary to the President shall—
(a) appoint the senior management of the public service;
(b) enter into performance agreements with the Permanent Secretaries and supervise and monitor their performance and exercise disciplinary control over them;
(c) co-ordinate the activities of the Permanent Secretaries;
(d) ensure that Permanent Secretaries implement the national priorities determined by Cabinet;
(e) introduce and manage public service management systems and related reforms; and
(f) have overall responsibility over all public officers.
(5) The Permanent Secretary to the President may at any time exercise the functions of any other Permanent Secretary in any matter falling under this Act, and if the Permanent Secretary to the President does so, he or she and not the other Permanent Secretary shall be regarded, for the purposes of that matter, as that other Permanent Secretary.
9. Permanent Secretaries' functions
(1) In addition to the function vested in the Permanent Secretary by section 52 of the Constitution, the Permanent Secretary shall be the chief accounting officer of a Ministry under his or her supervision.
(2) Without limiting the generality of the provisions of subsection (1), the Permanent Secretary shall be responsible for—
(a) initiating, formulating and implementing the policies of the Ministry under his or her supervision;
(b) formulating the Strategic Plan of the Ministry under his or her supervision in accordance with the performance agreement entered into with the Permanent Secretary to the President;
(c) ensuring that the services rendered by the Ministry supervised by him or her are delivered in accordance with the principles enshrined in the National Vision, the Public Service Charter, the Public Service Code of Conduct and the objectives of this Act;
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