13 Jun 2016

The Directorate on Corruption and Economic Crime (DCEC) has launched a mascot named Boammaaruri.

Through this initiative, the DCEC intended to help learners in primary schools to grasp  corruption issues at grass roots level.

Speaking at the mascot launch in Gaborone on June 10, the director of DCEC, Ms Rose Seretse, said corruption was a sad reality that co-existed with mankind from time immemorial.

 It was not only common in developing countries, but rather a threat to highly developed countries as well thus making it a global phenomenon.

“It is painful that corruption stifles development, siphons off scarce resources that could improve infrastructure and overall livelihoods of citizens,” said Ms Seretse.

She said this vice was a crime of immorality hence she found it paramount to shift attention to young members of the population with the view to direct them to a desirable path at tender age.

“That is why at upper primary school level, we endeavour to teach pupils principles of honesty and further caution them that dishonest individuals risk becoming career criminals in their adult life,” she said.

Ms Seretse further said they remained optimistic that if the students were nurtured well, in a positive environment, far away from the path riddled with immorality, they would become upright as well as law abiding citizens in future.

“As a directorate, we remain cognizant to the fact that we cannot rely on one solution to fight crime or corruption hence the need to continually find ways to contain it together with its attendant evils,” she said.

Ms Seretse said previously they had this kind of programme dubbed Raboammaaruri and after some time they decided to put the programme on hold and review it with the input of their stakeholders and the review resulted in giving it a facelift that included a unisex name and desirable physical attributes that will appeal to their young customers.

She said  as part of their youth programmes, they had infused anti-corruption concepts in junior secondary school curriculum, however with the reintroduction of Boammaaruri at primary school level, they believed that the strategy would afford them significant mileage in anti-corruption efforts at grass roots level.

“We are all aware that for corruption to be curbed and maintained at manageable levels it is paramount we forge strategic partnerships with the relevant stakeholders,” she said.

The initiative would be rolled to a number of schools and they intend to introduce the mascot to the learners in July. ENDS