Will Batswana feel any safer with the current security budget?

Richard Moleofe | Friday January 22, 2016 14:56

In view of the current financial estimates, there is a growing concern about where this is taking us. It seems all the security apparatus have had what we may refer to as a shot in the arm. Botswana Police Service (BPS) alone has a projected budget of P400 million set aside for purposes of surveillance.

The military’s budget is even greater as they have seen a tripling from a little over P1 billion to a staggering P3.2 billion. Further details will follow on why the security organs have become so privileged so much more this year. Security organs have always been given a modest budget and this goes particularly to Botswana Defence Force (BDF) and Directorate of Intelligence Services (DIS). The police have always been given a mediocre budget and one would wonder if our parliament does understand that these men and women form our first line of defence in as far as our security is concerned.

The question that seems to beg for answers is; why does BPS need to spend so much money on surveillance equipment? And what are the areas of need in our policing system? The other question related to BDF’s budget is; why did cabinet decide to make this astronomical budgetary increase? The answer to all these questions lies in the timing of the budget. It is not purely by coincidence that our security budget is bulging. Watch this space!

We have all appreciated the fact that the Commissioner of Police has brought in a new fleet of vehicles. That has made policing very much visible in most of our communities. I am glad the end users have now reached maturity in the way they use their newfound equipment. When the vehicles came, their lights were seen all over and they were eager to stop every third vehicle that passed their way. For a while these vehicles became a serious nuisance. But like a kid who has now gotten used to their new toy, the police have now settled to the idea that they have vehicles with sirens, something that was exclusive to traffic officers.

The primary concerns of every citizen lie in the crime rate on our streets and what happens at night when we go to sleep. The police still need more vehicles and personnel to patrol our streets night and day. Police presence and visibility are key to crime fighting. There is definitely a need to increase their numbers and modernise their equipment. That equipment should include basic things such as vehicles, helicopters and other equipment for investigators.

The government has spent reasonably on police training by setting up their new state-of-the-art college in Otse. Some of us were looking forward to seeing tremendous improvement in the advance training of police officers. For instance, crime investigation has not improved. If it had improved, it could be translated into many successful case conclusions. Of course we have seen the police doing fairly well in recent cases such as the arrest of the alleged killers of Montshiwa.

The police certainly need all that money and much more in their recurrent budget. This would help in addressing the issues of salary increase. Botswana police are some of the most de-motivated this side of the equator. Remuneration is key to uplifting the morale of any workforce. There is absolutely no point in purchasing expensive equipment if the users are not motivated. They will not have the urge to protect the very equipment in their hands.

One government department which is very reckless in the use of vehicles is BPS. There are two contributing factors in this scenario. One is the lack of transport. When a team has a vehicle in its possession, they maximise its use and one way of achieving this maximum utility is to speed. The other factor is that of disillusionment. Generally the police don’t care about what happens to their equipment because their salaries are so low.

As part of police motivation, there is need to address their housing problems. This is one department which experiences an extreme shortage of accommodation. When taking into consideration the fact that policing is a very stressful career, government should put it in her priorities to improve police accommodation. Their turnover in terms of transfers is also very high and that equally destabilises their family life. The general areas I have touched, which affect the morale of the police need specific attention. Moving on to addressing issues of surveillance is far from addressing the real needs of police officers.

The current hefty budget will only serve to address the needs of the wealthy property owners in this country. This equipment only comes to serve the ruling class and in particular the ruling party. The timing of the arrival of this equipment could never be more right than now. This is primarily going to serve the political needs of the ruling class to intrude into private lives of ordinary citizens.

I urge parliament to vote down on this budget. This is a house which has the President as a former policeman and he certainly understands the problems that these men and women face everyday. Furthermore, the Minister of Labour and Home Affairs is a former Commissioner of Police and he must be seen to be determined to influence parliament to vote in the manner that will help improve the conditions of service for our police officers.