Lekopanye Mooketsi
13 November 2009
Crime scene technicians in the Botswana Police Service, claim that theya are being denied specialist allowances, even though they qualify for the new scheme.
One of the officers produced a Savingram from the Commissioner of Police, which listed specialist skills categories for disciplined forces. The Savingram lists crime scene technicians among personnel who qualify.
According to the Savingram, crime scene technicians are entitled to 15 percent allowance of their basic salaries.
Other deserving specialised police personnel are handwriting and document examiners, dog handlers, scuba divers and fingerprint classification examiners.
Officers who qualified for the scheme were urged to submit their names to headquarters not later than January 9, 2009.
An officer in the Botswana Police Service, said they complied by submitting their names and all the required data. However, they have never heard from police headquarters ever since.
He said to their surprise they have not been paid the allowances even though they qualify.
The officer told Mmegi that their supervisors have not told them anything.
The officer said they are just in the dark and they do not know what the position is. He said this is why they have decided to appeal through the media.
The specialist allowances in the disciplined forces are meant to compensate for scare skills allowances, which was introduced in the civil service last year.
The deputy Commissioner of Police, Ikwatlhaeng Bagopi said police officers who qualify for the scare allowance are paid accordingly.
As for the specialist allowances, he said, it is not a matter that could be determined by the employers on their own. He said they have to approach the government on this matter.
"We took the matter up with the Directorate of Public Service and Management (DPSM).
It is determined by the DPSM. DPSM told us that they do not qualify for the allowances.
They are not denied," said the police chief.
He said if you are trained in a certain field it does not mean that government has to pay you specialist allowance.
"We can only pay them when there is authority. We are still pursuing the matter. We have appealed to DPSM for consideration. They said they might consider the matter."Bagopi appeals to the officers to allow them to conclude the consultative process. He said there is a criterion, set by the DPSM to determine who qualifies.
Bagopi said one has to fill in a form and submit it to DPSM. He said DPSM does not deny people who qualify.
"We do not feel that they are denying people. There is a criteria that they apply," he said.The police chief said they have made so many applications to the DPSM, which have been approved.
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2009 Mmegi/The Reporter. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
