Former FIF Secretariat appeal to the Mayor
Members of the recently dismissed secretariat of the Francistown Investment Forum(FIF) have escalated their protest against their dismissal and closure of their office to no less a person than the Mayor of Francistown, Sylvia Muzila.
In a letter dated February 5th and signed by Tshiamo Morobosi and Gadzanani Makopola, lists some several grievances. Firstly, they are concerned by the fact that, the Apex (Executive Committee) ignored their letter complaining about the project Coordinator. They also allege that, the former Mayor, who is now a specially nominated councillor, James Kgalajwe personalises the FIF. “The reference to this is contained in one of the audio records in which he said he had the power to dismiss anyone including the DC and run the project alone,” says part of the letter. Thirdly, the petitioners doubt the ability of the Apex because of “Lack of business knowledge by the Apex.” In fact, the Secretariat, which says that, during its tenure, it signed Memoranda of Agreement (MOU) with different organisations “for projects that are to benefit our city,” would have liked a smooth transition. Another point raised by the authors of the letter is that, some Apex members have been trying to force the business minded youth in the secretariat to offer them shares in their personal businesses in return for stakes in FIF.
After sacrificing so much time marketing the project and raising funds for it, the disgruntled members insist that the Secretariat deserved better in terms of treatment. The sixth point in the letter to the Mayor, entitled Lost Projects, reads thus, “A month after the event (FIF), we met with a recycling company that wanted to invest in Francistown in which they made a presentation on their intentions as well as how the people of Francistown were to benefit. This seemed an ideal outcome and a reflection of the success that we achieved but after delays by the Apex to in attending to the proposal, the company decided to relocate and set up in Selibe Phikwe. After that, a lot was not going well and we tried on several attempts to advice the Apex but everything fell on deaf ears.”
Responding to the queries, Kgalajwe explained that the reason the Secretariat was laid off was because, as the project reached the next stage, it could not continue to be served by non-permanent staff. “These boys are troublesome. They should not go around badmouthing us,” said Kgalajwe who denied that anybody in the management had bought shares from companies owned by former members of the Secretariat. The former mayor is not aware of any investor who relocated to Selibe Phikwe due to laxity by members of the Apex. “If that were true, I would know,” stated Kgalajwe.
When contacted for comment, Muzila acknowledge receipt of the letter. “I have asked to be briefed first before I may be of any help to them. I need to know, for instance, their conditions of employment. Hopefully, the DCs office will give me the information I want,” she concluded.
