17 Feb 2015

Member of Parliament for Francistown East has appealed to residents of Area W to assist the police in fighting crime.

Speaking during a kgotla meeting at Itekeng ward recently, Mr Buti Billy raised a concern over the increasing use of drugs in his constituency. He said residents should first check whether people they rented out houses to had work permits or were staying in Botswana legally.

"Renting out houses to illegal immigrants makes it hard for the police to carry out their work of arresting such people,” he said. Ms Tshepo Lekoma, a psychiatrist and mental health nursing student, used the platform to educate the residents about the abuse of drugs.

She said that each and every drug could be abused but the most commonly ones were alcohol and Marijuana, adding that those drugs had short and long term effects to the human state either socially or health wise. She however advised the youth to stop abusing drugs. Another resident, Mr Dihela Monnaapula appealed to people who sell illegal substances to stop and pleaded with parents to assist in fighting crime in their neighbourhood.

For his part, a resident, Mr Kgotlaetsho Ntuane raise a concern that people have now lost norms and values, as nowadays it was common to find children sharing alcohol with their parents. He pleaded with government to invest in recreational facilities, by opening the Francistown cinema to restrain youth from abusing drugs.

Councillor for Itekeng ward, Mr Lesego Kwambala also condemned the abuse of drugs, saying it was time for residents to get rid of such illegal acts and keep the streets clean. He said the Francistown Stadium is expected to be ready for use in May and was hopeful that the youth would take advantage of this opportunity and use their leisure time positively. ENDS