16 Feb 2017

Vice President, Mr Mokgweetsi Masisi has handed over 160 sunscreen lotions to the Botswana Police Service (BPS) to show compassion owing to prevailing unfavourable weather conditions, particularly hot temperatures that hit Botswana.
Handing over the donation, a gesture by Global Holdings Botswana yesterday, Mr Masisi said the company was contributing to the development of the country under public private partnership.
He said he had approached different companies to find out how they could assist police officers who continued to help control traffic around the city even under hot temperatures.
Mr Masisi added that there was need to assist police officers in all different weather conditions.
Again, he said currently, sunscreens had become an important must have precautionary measure, especially in today’s living because of heat waves.
Police officers, he said could not avoid prolonged stay under the sun owing to ever escalating numbers of cars leading to overwhelming and devastating traffic in all roads around the city.
He said even though sunscreen lotions may seem few, they were expensive, hence the donated 160 against the initial 180 that was requested for traffic controlling officers in and around Gaborone.
“I also urge the rest of the corporate world to chip in with whatever they could,” he said adding that every effort would play a significant part towards assisting the police on the roads.
Further, he said sunscreens ought to be given every start of summer season throughout and would continue to raise a bottle of sunscreen for each police officer every summer.
On the other hand, Commissioner of Police, Mr Keabetswe Makgophe thanked Global Holdings Botswana for the donation which he said would help officers to ease traffic flow.
Mr Makgophe said when the traffic control initiative started, they thought it would be a temporary measure, “but it has since taken over and now other villages and towns are requesting that it be introduced in their areas.”
The sunscreens, he said would motivate officers, saying “it says to them that they are being recognised, not only by the public but also from a higher office as well.”
As such, he said the donation was also a reminder for him as the police chief to do a lot regarding welfare of BPS officers.
Thus, he assured the Vice President that they would continue doing their best not to disappoint the public.
Global Holdings Botswana chief executive officer, Mr Herman De Lange said they were always focused on promoting development in communities in which they operated.
Mr De Lange said they wanted to make things more smoother on the roads especially during peak hours because police officers spent hours in the sun, and thus promised to donate sunscreens regularly. ENDS