Police, soldiers deserve better from politicians
Wednesday, August 09, 2017
They become masters and we, the masters, become servants. They dominate our public discourse and only account to themselves. They sell dreams and offer just that, dreams (some shattered).
Parliament recently sat and had a debate on the amendment to the Police Act and the Botswana Defence Force (BDF) Act. There was a motion tabled that sought an amendment to the Police Act and the BDF Act in respect of full pay under interdiction. The status quo is that a soldier or a Police Officer who has been interdicted pending a disciplinary hearing is not entitled to a full salary and is only remunerated half of his or her salary. The Acts are in divergence and difference to other public servants’ Act to the extent that those in public service are allowed full pay whilst on interdiction or suspension, whereas soldiers and police officers receive half pay on interdiction.
The recent disclosure by the IEC that 2,513 registrations have been turned down due to various irregularities should prompt all Batswana to meticulously review the voters' rolls and address concerns about rejected registrations.The disparities flagged by the IEC are troubling and emphasise the significance of rigorous voter registration processes.Out of the rejected registrations, 29 individuals were disqualified due to non-existent Omang...