29 Nov 2022

Government is tightening measures to combat a surge in criminal activities including cash-in-transit heists, automatic teller machine (ATM) bombings and livestock theft, among others.

This was revealed by Member of Parliament for Gabane/Mmankgodi and Minister of Defence and Security, Mr Kagiso Mmusi in his contribution to the State-of-the-Nation Address recently.

Mr Mmusi said crime remained a serious problem and therefore a priority as illustrated by government’s commitment to working tirelessly with the police and other law enforcement agencies devising strategies to meet the target of a crime-free environment.

He observed that the heinous criminal activities that took a nose dive in recent past months had the potential to scare away investors, thus affecting the economy.

Since it was vital to invest in human resources, he said his ministry had taken the decision to recruit more than 1 000 police officers to increase police visibility on the ground.

Mr Mmusi said they had also introduced different systems such as drone patrol and CCTV surveillance at crime hotspots and borderlines.

He explained that the established border patrol unit was meant to deal with cross-border illicit crime, emphasising that the intention was to maintain peace and stability, which was ideal to attract potential investors.

He said government was working on establishing a private licensing board for private security companies dealing with all logistics concerning security operations to bring them on board given the role they also play in security issues.

He credited the decision as a good cause, which has significantly decreased the number of heists with criminals resorting to ATM bombings. 

He said the ministry was currently undertaking a review of the performance standards of the operation.

Mr Mmusi said the newly introduced Drug Enforcement Agency, which would be working with the police, would devise strategies to nab drug cartels and drug lords in the country.

He said plans were also in place to arrest cattle rustling syndicates that were rampant across the country. 

He pleaded with MPs to ask constituents to establish neighbourhood watch groups to fight house break-ins and burglary.

Mr Mmusi applauded the Botswana Defence Force (BDF) for a commendable assignment in Mozambique. He said since the first batch of 288 soldiers was sent to Mozambique, the BDF had done a sterling job in its foreign deployment.

The second batch had 358 while the current batch has 361 soldiers and some of the deployed soldiers are female soldiers.

He said the BDF was now working with SADC on a mission code-named Scenario 5, which was meant to restore peace rather than the initial military operation. 

Scenario 5 is a multidimensional mission combining operations of military, civilian, police, and prison components.

He said when BDF first recruited female officers, they had 28, but the current enrolment was 1 505.

Turning to his constituency, Mr Mmusi commended government for Gabane infrastructure development including road networks and street lighting. 

He however decried cracks in about 321 houses as a result of construction. 

He said they were also impressed by the envisaged P76 million-school  project in Mogoditshane block 9, which would be equipped with facilities including staff housing.

He said the water distribution in his area had improved significantly, but was worried about the worn out water pipes.

He, however, said despite improved water distribution, some places such as Fikeng and Kamenakwe were still facing water shortage. ENDS