24 Nov 2022

Consultations  on the arming of private security companies are ongoing, Minister of Defence and Security Mr Kagiso Mmusi revealed Wednesday.        

 Briefing the media in Gaborone, he said the majority of security companies preferred not to be armed. 

All  stakeholders were therefore being consulted before the matter could be finalised, explained the minister.

Mr Mmusi pointed out that the current legislation allowed only Botswana Police Service, Botswana Defence Force and  Directorate of Intelligence and Security Services personnel to bear arms. 

Therefore for private security companies to be armed, the law would have to be amended, he said.

Turning to other matters, the minister said there was need to address the issue of industry operational standards as private security companies were not only core to fighting crime but employed thousands of people.

He decried reports of rampant violation of the Employment Act in the industry saying between April and May, two compliance inspections were conducted and violators fined a total of P443 700.

As an intervention, Mr Mmusi said the ministry was planning to hold workshops and training for security companies and guards to sensitise them about work ethics and regulations governing the sector.

For his part, Security Association of Botswana chairperson, Mr Ikotlhaeng Bagopi said although there were over 4 000 registered security companies in Botswana, the organisation still received a lot of complaints about illegal operations.

Other complaints were paying below minimum wage, non-payment of salaries, late payment of workers, failure to provide protective clothing as well as unavailability of guard houses and ablution facilities, he said.

Mr Bagopi said the association sought a more robust licensing process for security companies with the capacity to handle industry-wide complaints. 

He said the organisation was advocating for its membership to be a licensing requirement. ENDS