The battle for the lucrative P1billion GEMVAS scheme

Tensions have escalated between the government and the National Amalgamated, Local, Central Government and Parastatal Workers Union (NALCGPWU), regarding the Government Employees Motor Vehicle and Residential Property Advance Scheme (GEMVAS).GEMVAS is a Botswana government initiative providing subsidised vehicle and housing loans to eligible public officers.At the centre of the dispute is a decision by the government through the Directorate of Public Service Management (DPSM) to halt the scheme and later subject it to tendering for outsourcing.The DPSM and the Minister for State, President, Defence and Security, Moeti Mohwasa, have been accused of being deceitful by the union. GEMVAS was previously run by the public sector unions before it was taken over by the government.The Scheme is governed by General Orders as well as a Directive issued by the DPSM from time to time. The guaranteed loans are issued by the commercial banks to all the eligible Government employees.In February this year, the Ministry of Finance issued a Tender for the Provision of Services for Management and Administration of GEMVAS for a period of 60 months. The tender for Domestic Bidding was closed on the 17th February 2026.According to the tender document, the extent of the service entailed improving accessibility of the scheme by government employees countrywide.It was also to ensure that bonds are registered in favour of the Botswana Government and registration books bear the government's financial interest.However, the Manual Workers Union Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Robert Rabasimane, said there is a cabal made up of some officials at DPSM, Ministry of Finance and some of their “comrades” within the labour movements who are pushing for the Scheme to be given to a certain Joint Venture company with close ties to the leadership of the country.“They are holding secret meetings to discuss the scheme and how the tender should be awarded to a certain company with ties to the leadership of this country. DPSM has lied to us, and Minister Mohwasa has deceived us”, Rabasimane said explaining that the minister had promised to take the trade unions on board regarding GEMVAS.“The minister called us in early 2025 and told us that under the Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC), they will ensure that GEMVAS returns to trade unions. He said if there had to be any changes, he would notify us, but he never did.”On the 13th of March 2026, the DPSM issued a Public Notice indicating that the agreement between the government and participating commercial banks on GEMVAS has lapsed.“To this end, parties agreed to suspend issuance of new loans through the scheme until a new agreement is signed. The negotiations between the government and the banks are at an advanced stage”, the notice says.Manual workers have, however, questioned the intention of the government as the other two documents say something contrary on the same matter.“Government Loan Insurance Fund, which is commonly called the G-Leave, as of March 31st 2026, stood at P1 billion. This means the preferred bidder will take that money. We will not allow the G- Leave to be looted.”He added, “When we were administering the account, we were asked to commit P6 million to prove that we would be able to financially run the scheme and finance the loans, which we did.With the current arrangement, there is nothing like that. All this is in breach of Order 7 of the General Orders governing the scheme.”Rabasimane dismissed claims by DPSM that agreements with all the contracted banks have lapsed. He argued that agreement with the banks were done at the time but at different periods.He stated that the scheme was run by seven (7) commercial banks, and they fear that only a few banks will run the scheme, and many public servants will be disadvantaged.The union is worried that while the government decides to proceed with outsourcing, many public servants are unable to have maintenance carried out at the procured homes and motor vehicles.Meanwhile, DPSM has vehemently dismissed the claims by the union. According to DPSM, the accusations are unsubstantiated, uncorroborated and unfortunate.DPSM said claims that Director Gaone Macholo and Minister Mohwasa acted improperly in relation to the GEMVAS scheme are unfounded and without merit.“All relevant stakeholders have been consulted and taken on board on the justification and to outsource the GEMVAS administration. The procurement through open tender is in progress, and no company has been awarded thecontract yet.“Insinuating that a specific company is being considered based on the relationship of stakeholders to power is deliberate misinformation that intends to soil the process even before it's completed”, Public Relations Officer Chandapiwa Maele said.

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The battle for the lucrative P1billion GEMVAS scheme