22 Jul 2021

All police officers with free accommodation do not qualify for housing and upkeep allowance, Minister of Defence, Justice and Security, Mr Kagiso Mmusi has told Parliament.

That, Minister Mmusi said, in response to a parliamentary question on Wednesday, was because officers benefitted from institutional housing.

“Temporary relief recession allowance was introduced by government as per the Directive No. 11 of 2012 dated October 14, 2012 where public officers at C4 Scale and below were eligible,” the minister said.

However, he said the allowance was subsequently terminated by Directive No. 7 dated April 2, 2015 and was renamed Housing and upkeep allowance applicable across all salary scales.

“That undoubtedly had the effect of excluding police officers from this benefit since they enjoy institutional or free accommodation,” he said. He added that those deployed in remote areas, however, enjoyed the Remote Area Settlement Allowance (RASA) depending on the extent of remoteness.

Minister Mmusi was responding to a question from Ghanzi South MP, Mr Motsamai Motsamai who had wanted to know what happened to the recession or house keep allowance which was authorised by the Directorate of Public Service Management (DPSM) for police officers residing in towns. ends