The barring of imported cars will become a security threat

Richard Moleofe | Friday November 4, 2016 19:41

Apparently the minister wants to apply a ban on what is often referred to as grey imports. He advances several reasons and chief among them he cites the high levels of pollution and the growing traffic congestion on our roads.

It’s a pity that the minister does not in any way come close to bringing on the table research results that have informed him and lead him to that conclusion. Unfortunately, we still live in a country where the word of a minister easily becomes law and the officers who are supposed to bring in technical advice only reduce themselves to praise singers.

Before coming to the element of security in this matter, let me remind the minister that in this country, certain standards have been set regarding the regulation of traffic including the building or expansion of roads.

Allow me to give you two specific examples here. The current Molepolole Road that cuts through Mogoditshane was expanded after a study was conducted by your ministry.

That determination was based on facts on the ground and not just a decision by one man. After the study, a three lane dual carriage road was built to accommodate traffic going and coming from Molepolole. Beginning with the issue of pollution by these imported cars, I don’t think all of them combined can cause as much pollution like we have in a gravel road cutting through Khudiring ward. This road is used by motorists from Molepolole who attempt to escape traffic from the main road which is already experiencing serious congestion during peak hours.

There is no car that does not produce pollutants that get into our atmosphere. But of course that increases with age and the type of each motor vehicle. What Mr Minister should be advocating for is the conduct of a pollution test on each vehicle.

It is with much irony that the minister chose to speak about these imported vehicles just a weekend after I had discussed their importance to the economy of Mogoditshane and their relevance to soldiers in particular.

In 2006 when Botswana Defence Force was conducting a joint Company Commander’s Course in Mogoditshane, officers from Mozambique who were participants could not believe that a soldier of a rank of private can afford to buy a vehicle in this country. As a participant in the course, we went on to complete our exercise in Boane Military Camp in Mozambique. That is an establishment for training soldiers for most courses. In that facility, there were only two private vehicles belonging to the commanding officer and his deputy. They held the ranks of Colonel and Lieutenant Colonel respectively.

So to some extent, we have what one can refer to as a liberal economy for the military personnel here. In most of the southern African countries, the purchasing of new motor vehicles is still exclusive to commissioned officers. It is also the case here. So the grey imports have brought in salvation for our non commissioned officers. Driving through SSKB, you will be met by so many of these imported vehicles both in the residential areas and the operational grounds.

In fact BDF has long had a problem with these vehicles some 10 years ago. The population was becoming too high and driving the Commander from his house to BDF HQ was no longer a short five minutes drive. Then BDF authorities created Botswana’s largest parking lot for all others and only those holding the rank of Lieutenant Colonel and above are allowed to drive to the operational area in their private vehicles.

The solution was not to stop soldiers from buying themselves imported cars, but a large parking lot was provided. So Mr Minister, the best way out of the congestion on our roads is to build new ones. The expansion of the entire A1 road is long overdue.

On the issue of safety, the worst accidents recorded this year largely involved the so called local cars even though we as a country are producing none. Take for instance, the accident involving the double deck bus and a Fortuner near Artisia, none of those was an imported vehicle from Asia. Once government stops these vehicles from coming into the country, our poor soldiers are never going to afford a vehicle of any type. That goes especially for our NCOs.

This will spell the beginning of a great exodus out of the military. Or maybe to bring it closer to home, BDF will experience The Great Trek second only to that of the Afrikaners when they left Cape of Good Hope.

Already BDF is experiencing problems with NCOs who are leaving in droves. The problem might not be as imaginable as the authorities may think because at the moment we are not at war with anyone.

But wait until the police start leaving. That will immediately translate into an astronomical increase in crime. Already Mogoditshane which is the headquarters of our military and the motor industry shows that the crime rates are so high there. Unless if government decides to raise the pay of our security forces to a desirable level. A desirable level may mean a 50% pay raise because their salaries are just not what they are supposed to be. Prompting an exodus will make running BPS and BDF difficult for the Commissioner and the Commander respectively.

I have always wondered where vehicles of the military in Japan end up at because I know in the UK military vehicles get sold in public auctions. Maybe the time is right for us to be thinking of getting used vehicles for BDF and BPS from these countries. The government of Zambia conducted a study a few years ago on the same grey imports. They found them to be so useful that they decided to import them for all government departments. But Mr Minister, where is your study?