26 Mar 2017

Parliament has approved the 2017/18 budget totaling P7.76 billion for the Ministry of Defence, Justice and Security with a majority of the MPs calling upon the minister to allocate more resources to the police.
Debating the budget, the MP for Mahalapye East, Ms Botlogile Tshireletso said while she was happy with the manner in which the police respond to cases, their fleet should be expanded especially to deal with accidents along the A1 highway.
Ms Tshireletso further said she was concerned with the bails given to criminals who when free, continue with their criminal activities.
MP Thato Kwerepe of Ngami said the Ngami area was broad and therefore police in Sehitwa and Gumare were not sufficient, saying some villages were as far as 150 km from the two stations.
He further said their vehicles were insufficient, adding that they also need accommodation.
MP Kwerepe suggested that funds allocated for the expansion of Dukwi refugee camp should be cut for the benefit of the police.
He said police in Tsau and Kareng do not have a storeroom which has led to a loss or damage of recovered stolen goods.
The MP for Molepolole North, Mr Mohammad Khan said he was concerned that the Botswana Defence Force (BDF) has been allocated a lion’s share of the ministry’s budget while the police, who have a lot of work in their hands, were under funded.
He said the gap of almost P2 billion which was to be used to acquire military hardware and equipment was a huge amount, but that the police were under resourced.
MP Khan said most police stations across the country were in a deplorable state, adding that this might be a contributing factor to their poor productivity.
He said drug use, especially amongst the youth, was high calling for more resources to curb it.
The Molepolole North legislator said the construction of the Molepolole Police Station was under resourced, as P30 billion covering a period of three years has been budgeted for it.
He said Molepolole was a big village with the highest population in the country, but that the current police station was constructed during the colonial years.
MP Khan further said there should be satellite police stations within the village in addition to the police station.
Mmadinare MP, Mr Kefentse Mzwinila also decried the lack of vehicles for the police, saying this hindered them from attending cases on time.
He called for more resources to be allocated to the police, saying crime has become more complicated due to the emergence of terrorism, cyber-crime and drugs.
MP Mzwinila further called for the construction of a police station in Mmadinare.
He further said he supported the BDF funding as they constantly need to update military equipment which requires trained personnel to operate.
MP Mzwinila also called for the establishment of a military academy, saying this would enable Botswana to export professionals to other countries.
MP Buti Billy of Francistown East called upon the minister to improve the conditions of the armed forces, saying soldiers live permanently in tents while police buildings were dilapidated.
He also asked the minister to provide his constituency with a satellite police station in Selepa and Area W, as the areas were far from the main police station.
MP Billy further said he wondered what happened to a police station planned for Tati Siding which was included in the National Development Plan (NDP) 9.
He said youths engaged in cluster policing should be given first priority when special constables were engaged and subsequently be permanently employed as members of Botswana Police.
Meanwhile, Serowe West legislator, Mr Tshekedi Khama said lack of maintenance planning by the BDF had led to the government spending huge amounts of money, as there had to be a wholesome change to the equipment and hardware.
He said the replacement of equipment should have been done over a period of time rather than once at a high cost.
MP Khama said while the police were the first institution to be created in the country, their budget had not grown.
He said police stations were unacceptable, adding that their productivity was subject to the environment they were forced to work in. Gaborone North MP, Mr Haskins Nkaigwa said he was happy that Block 10 police station has been planned for.
He said private security companies have to be reserved for Batswana as most of them were in the hands of naturalised citizens.
MP Nkaigwa further said special constables were being abused as they control traffic during rush hour, attend to cases that require officers and said they should be provided with counselling as they deal with accident victims and suicides ENDS