27 Mar 2014

Botswana Police Service's Detective Assistant Commissioner Oabitse Rankwaila has expressed concern about the increase in number of cases involving goods smuggled into the country.

Speaking at a Francistown police station smuggling of goods workshop, Ms Rankwaila said though the problem was national, Francistown was one of the areas that were hard hit by cigarette smuggling.

She noted that in 2012, 31 cases of cigarettes smuggling were recorded and last year, the numbers rose to 39. She explained that although the increase by eight might be seen as small, it was actually a high number when looking at the value of cigarettes in question.

Detective Assistant Commissioner Rankwaila, however, said cases of other stolen goods such as jewelry, laptops and plasma televisions that were smuggled out of the country were also a concern.

The police detective said truck and taxi transporters smuggled goods on daily basis and appealed to them to desist from transporting such goods.

She reminded transporters that it was not only illegal to transport smuggled goods but also dangerous to their lives as in most cases they do that at night.

She expressed a concern about overloading of some vehicles especially at the borders that she said made it difficult for the officers to search them and in the process transport illegal goods.

A Botswana Unified Revenue Service official, Ms Catherine Lephojane said during the 2013/14 financial year a total of 207 cases of failure to declare were recorded at the borders in the Francistown region.

She said at the top of the list of smuggled goods are cigarettes, followed by facial creams and second hand clothing respectively. Ms Lephojane said the cigarettes that are commonly smuggled into Botswana through ungazzeted points of entry are Remmington Gold, Kingsgate, Kingdom, Everest and Pacific Storm among others while creams include diproson.

She lamented that through smuggling, only a few people benefit from the goods that could have otherwise benefited the nation as a whole through tax deduction.

She also cited that some goods such as imported second hand underwear could be a health risk because their origins and whether they were declared safe could not be established before they go into the market.

Mr Kebaabetswe Keatlholetswe of the Department of Road Transport and Safety expressed concern about some operators who rent out their passenger permits citing that such is common in Francistown.

He said some local operators use their mini buses as school buses while holding a passenger permit for local operation and some only operate at month end and during holidays. He warned that contravening the permit conditions could lead to it being suspended or revoked.

Mr Patrick Makoba of Narcotic, Fauna and Flora decried that the use of drugs was now common in children at primary schools and wondered what future generation the country will have. He noted that some public transport such as taxis and mini buses were engaged in transporting drugs and other illegal goods.

Proposing a vote of thanks, the deputy mayor, Councillor Joyce Ndove blamed locals for providing a market for smuggled goods and failing to report wrongdoers. Ends