Mokgomane — Prevention and awareness, victim support and rehabilitation as well as law enforcement and prosecution sit at the core of the activities that Botswana will undertake under the second national anti-human trafficking action plan that was launched in Mokgomane on Tuesday.
Performing the launch, Justice minister Mr Machana Shamukuni said the five-year action plan would guide efforts aimed at the prevention, detection and investigation of cases of human trafficking, the prosecution of perpetrators of the crime as well as ensure a coordinated and collaborative effort of all key stakeholders.
Minister Shamukuni said trafficking in persons had far-reaching consequences on victims and their loved ones, hence the need for a multi-pronged plan of action that was not only water-tight but one that also tightened the noose on those who, despite the intensified efforts against the crime, continued to violate the law.
He said the fact that human trafficking violated the rights of victims and stripped them of their dignity was a reason compelling enough to push governments across the globe to do their utmost to protect their people, and noted that it was for this reason that Botswana, through crafting the anti-human trafficking action plan, renewed its commitment to becoming a nation free of the crime of trafficking in persons.
Appealing to Batswana to be each other's keeper, the minister said if citizens actively protected each other by helping detect and therefore prevent incidents of human trafficking, perpetrators' efforts to traffic in persons would be repeatedly quashed thus deterring them from continuing to attempt to commit the crime.
"Human trafficking is complex. Its effects are heart-wrenching. It breaks the spirit and soul of the victim. It robs them of their dignity," he said. He said most often victims get enslaved and subjected to a life of horrific suffering while others get trafficked for body parts harvesting.
"Traffickers are cruel. If they are to find us gathered like we are here today, they would not see human beings but rather a certain number of kidneys to harvest and sell," Mr Shamukuni said as he appealed to Batswana to be wary of people using social media platforms and other means of modern communication to entice them to move to other countries with promises of good living.
Acting chairperson of the parliamentary portfolio committee on foreign affairs, defence, justice, security and government assurances Mr Mpho Balopi said human trafficking was a big problem that should not be allowed to take root in the country.
He said the crime had become so endemic in some countries that reversing it was near impossible.
He thus implored Batswana to fight the crime in earnest by partnering with and supporting government's efforts aimed at curtailing it.
Permanent sectary in the Ministry of Justice Ms Naledi Moroka said the main objective of the national anti-human trafficking plan was to provide a framework through which all stakeholders planned and implemented activities that counter human trafficking.
Ms Moroka said the implementation matrix of the plan, being what the country would be doing to counter human trafficking in the next five years, would be hinged on several activities such as intensive public awareness on human trafficking and advocating for the inclusion of human trafficking issues in schools curriculum.
Focus will also be put on capacity building for law enforcement agencies and promoting regional and international cooperation on issues of human trafficking, she said. Kgosi Tirontle Kgopo of Mokgomane and Good Hope District deputy council chairperson Mr Ketlhogile Keipeile also concurred on the need for concerted efforts to ensure a successful war against human trafficking. Kgosi Kgopo urged Batswana to individually and collectively fight the crime.
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Councilor Keipeile said creating sustainable jobs that paid people well would help protect them against being lured to other countries under the pretext of a better life only to end up in the hands of traffickers.
"Human trafficking is a growing concern which at times people fall victim to because of the need to survive. As government we should create jobs and ensure that such jobs pay well because low wages can reinforce the belief that better-paying jobs are in other countries," he said.
The second national anti-human trafficking action plan follows the elapse of the first one that was in effect from 2018 to this year.
BOPA
