Bame Piet
16 November 2007
Gaborone — After years of trying, the government has accepted that plans to merge the Botswana Police Service and the Local Police have become a cropper.
Local Government Minister, Margaret Nasha who is in charge of the Local Police told Mmegi yesterday that the two formations will continue to operate separately. At the moment, her ministry is revising the Local Police Amendment Bill to revamp conditions of service for the Local Police.
She hopes to table the bill in the current parliamentary sitting. "I will be taking the draft bill to cabinet and if it is approved in time, I hope to table it in parliament before Christmas break," she said.
Meanwhile, there are allegations of tribalism and nepotism in the Local Police. A senior official at the Ministry of Local Government is accused of irregularities in transfers and promotions.
Some officers have been acting station commanders in major villages for too long. Certain stations have two superintendents and acting Local Police commander Godwin Tlhogo said this has the potential to cause tension between officers. He said the transfers they recommended in September have not been effected. He confirmed that some officers find themselves idling without work and the delay has badly affected productivity. Tlhogo added that some officers phone his office everyday inquiring when they are going to be transferred.
Interestingly, Nasha says that there is a problem of people refusing to go on transfers especially when they are moved to remote areas. "We in the Local Government have a general problem of people not wanting to move when transfers arise, especially when they have to go to remote areas," she said.
Some officers are annoyed by a recent trip by four colleagues to Britain and South Africa to learn about the duties and practices of municipal police. "They just went there without terms of reference and they came back not knowing what to do. They can't even write a report on what they learnt or to make any recommendations on what the government can do to establish the municipal police," said a source. She added that the officers have been dispatched to different stations though they have not produced any report.
Apparently, Nasha is in the dark about such the trip or plans to establish a municipal police. "I am not aware of that trip," she said. But the commander of the Local Police Tlhogo confirmed the trip.
The director of tribal administration at the Ministry of Local Government Nametsegang Sekwati was not available for comment. She referred queries to Tlhogo who in turn referred Mmegi back to her. She eventually said she was going to see a physiotherapist and requested to be contacted today since she thought Tlhogo had provided the answers.
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