21 Mar 2013

Kanye North MP, Mr Kentse Rammidi has called for equitable distribution of funds among the country’ security organs.

 

Debating the budget proposals for the Ministry of Defence, Justice and Security in Parliament, MP Rammidi said the current state pertaining to the shortage and in some cases the bad state of both office and staff accommodation for police officers was evidence of the inequitable distribution of funds among security departments.

 

He said government had disregarded the plight of the police saying the old police stations in particular were an eyesore, citing stations such as Kanye and Borakanelo as examples. 

 

He said while it was understandable that there was no money to construct new police stations, there was need to undertake regular maintenance on the existing ones. 

 

Mr Rammidi observed that police housing was also a serious cause for concern as in addition to being housed in dilapidated structures, police officers were, more often than not, made to share.

 

On a positive note, Mr Rammidi applauded the traffic police for their initiative of controlling traffic when roads were  congested. 

He said the move was a welcome development especially given the fact that traffic lights were often non-functional.

 

On a different matter, MP Rammidi called for the establishment of rapid response teams which would be placed in strategic locations.

Such teams, he said, would help improve the police’ response time.

 

Contributing to the same debate, Kweneng South MP, Dr John Seakgosing also decried the bad state of office and staff accommodation for both the Botswana Police Service and the Botswana Defence Force (BDF).

 

Dr Seakgosing said if not addressed, the scenario had the potential to dampen staff morale and commitment to duty, which in turn would be detrimental to proper and satisfactory service delivery.

 

He however commended the ministry for the introduction of booze buses, noting that the initiative had contributed greatly to sober driving.

Lobatse MP, Mr Nehemiah Modubule shared similar sentiments on police housing; urging government to address the situation in Lobatse where some police officers were housed in structures made from asbestos, which endangered their health.

 

While Mr Modubule praised members of the BDF for assisting the police in the discharge of their duties, he urged government to strengthen the police service so that it is able to fulfill its mandate without the backing of the army.

 

He also hailed the Department of Prisons and Rehabilitation for doing a commendable job in reshaping the lives of convicts.

MP Modubule implored government to set up an Independent Police Complaints Commission.

 

He said the current situation where the police handle and investigate complaints against their own was both undesirable and ineffective.

He said it was disheartening that although the Ministry of Defence, Justice and Security had long promised to establish the commission, nothing had so far been done.

 

The MPs were commenting on the Ministry of Defence, Justice and Security’s proposed budget of over P3 billion (P3 725 350 570) for the 2013/2014 financial year which had earlier been presented for approval by Minister Dikgakgamatso Seretse. ENDS