25 May 2016

Lack of funds to pay teachers’ overtime allowances has led to the dormancy of democracy youth clubs in schools. 

Speaking at the Party Liaison Committee (PLC) workshop in Letlhakeng recently, principal elections officer for Letlhakeng Sub-district, Mr Joseph Diswai said his office was still trying to source funds to pay teachers so that the clubs could be resuscitated.

He said such clubs were vital as they were meant to educate the pupils on democratic aspects such as the democratic processes and systems of government through debates and essay writing.

He said that because the clubs meetings were meant to be conducted after hours as they were not part of the school syllabus, teachers then required that they be paid overtime allowances to facilitate them. He however expressed hope that his office would soon find the funds to pay the overtime allowances.

Other resources such as programmes and teaching materials are ready, he said.

On other issues, Mr Diswai urged members of the PLC to always ensure their availability for the committee meetings to be updated on current developments that concern elections as the issues are of national interest.

He however observed that the attendance has been improving over time and commended the good behaviour.

He also stressed the importance of consistency regarding representatives that organisations send to the workshops as it helps on issues of continuity.

Mr Diswai also told the PLC members about the vitality of being up to date with issues such as change in the processes of elections, especially as the country gears towards the 2019 elections.

He said that as the country moves towards the 2019 elections, there are issues that are being considered such as electronic registration and voting, and that at the moment reviews of polling stations is on-going and is expected to be complete soon.

“These are just some of the issues that you need to always be up-to-date with, especially that you are expected to teach your fellow democrats about them,” he said. He also urged them to familiarise themselves with the Electoral Act, saying that most of the conflicts that usually occur during elections usually emanate from failure to understand the Act.

“Elections are a sensitive thing, and any gap in the knowledge of the Electoral Act is the major cause of crisis in other countries, and we do not want the same happening in our country. So it is important that we know the Act and teach it to the organisations that we represent,” he said.

Concerning preparations for the 2019 elections, Mr Diswai said that registration is expected to start sometime next year, although the exact date has not yet been set. ENDS