26 Feb 2018

By Mooketsi Mojalemotho

 

MOLAPOWABOJANG - Residents of Molapowabojang and surrounding areas recently came together to devise ways to fight crime in the area.

 The move is aimed at bringing an end to, among others, rising incidences of cattle rustling that had become predominant in the area.

 In attendance at the recent Molapowabojang meeting were the area leadership, farmers and the police. The Moraologa Cluster workshop was held under the theme: Prevention is Better than Reaction.

 Speaking at the event, the area MP, Dr Alfred Madigele said the collaboration could help, given  the fact that there was no police station in the area.

    Lack of police visibility in the area, he said could be a contributing factor to the rise in crime incidences.

Dr Madigele, who is also Minister of Tertiary Education, Research, Science and Technology, further said  some members of the criminal racket that stole people’s livestock were repeat offenders who seemed to have found a gapping whole within existing laws because they were always granted bail by the courts.

Further, Dr Madigele said some criminal-minded police officers who colluded with criminals were also to blame for stock theft that had now spiraled out of control.

On drugs, Dr Madigele called on parents to take children to church, where they would be taught important Christian values, thereby moulding them into responsible future leaders.

“As parents, you should also monitor movements of your children and make sure they keep the right company. This also applies to some of your children who are in the city pursuing education because majority of them do drugs,” he said.

Also, Dr Madigele challenged the general community to become part of crime busting clusters and wage an all-out war against drug proliferation and abuse within communities.

Senior superintendent  Alakanani Makobo conceded that Molapowabojang policing had grown over the years and needed more police personnel; something he promised would be done soon.

The police chief told the gathering that anti-social behavior which was rife amongst the youth remained one of the primary causes of increasing incidents of crime within the area.

“We have found out during our investigations that the youth as well as some elderly people who take drugs and abuse alcohol commit these crimes,” he said.

Senior Superintendent Makobo therefore implored parents to inculcate into their children good social values and fight untoward behavior found in their children without compromise.

The fight against crime and drugs can only be won when the general public join forces with law enforcement bodies such as the police to devise strategies to oust them from their midst, he said.

He stated further that it was their wish as the police to see communities taking full responsibility in the fight against crime because it was the community that often times bore the brunt of such criminal activities.

An official from Kanye Administrative Authority, Ms Keamogetse Segokgo reminded parents about the importance of a tranquil environment in proper upbringing of children which she said often determined how such children would integrate with the rest of the community in future.

“It is therefore important that we teach them proper conduct from a very young age, be transparent to them and involve them on various decisions that we take in our lives,” she said adding that often times majority of children who displayed bad conduct and resorted to drug abuse and subsequent crimes had a history of both physical and emotional abuse meted upon them at an early age.

Station Commander for Lobatse police, Superintendent Photsanyana Mogatsaseno had earlier on stated the workshop was a brainchild of Moraologa crime prevention cluster in Molapowabojang who collaborated with the police to fight crime.

Members of the community embraced the concept of clusters and pledged that they would join the initiative. BOPA