Pinning Dreams On Volunteer Policing

By Monkagedi Gaotlhobogwe
Staff Writer | Monday February 22, 2010 00:00

 

For Ratau, who finished  Form V in 2007 and has never  seen the sun shine on  his career ambitions, this initiative provides a rare opportunity  to  change his life for good and he is determined to make it that way.  The  lad tells the Monitor that  he and his colleagues in the volunteer policing have been briefed that they could earn themselves  permanent police  jobs if they work hard. This piece of good news has  given him so much hope he can't wait to prove his mettle and soar like an eagle.

Ratau is no ordinary young man. He describes himself as more of a destitute after his parents' home at Block 5 was razed by bulldozers because his parents were among Gaborone residents who had occupied land illegally. 'I don't know what to say regarding where I live. My parents used to have  a home in Block 5 before it was destroyed.

'Now I live in shacks. I have been struggling since I completed my Form V in 2007. I have been surviving on piece jobs here and there.  My best bet is on this volunteer police job. I am determined to work hard and prove myself, and probably catch the eye of the supervisors,' says the slender looking Ratau.

'I'm told there are cases of some hard working special constables who later get recruited to serve as full-time police officers. That possibility is also open to us, that's what the police have told us.  My childhood dream has been to be a soldier. I can still be happy in the police force, they are more or less the same,' enthuses the lad as he waits outside the Gaborone West Police offices on Friday to hear from his new seniors what the volunteer police job entails.

According to the Minister of Defence and Security Dikgakgamatso Seretse, although the exercise will be a permanent feature, individual volunteer officers will rotate over a six-month period.

The likes of Ratau will be rewarded financially depending on their individual performance in combating  crime in their respective clusters.Nelson Mpelegang, 27, of Block 6, is a part-time student studying criminal law at a local college in Gaborone, regards the volunteer policing initiative as a window of opportunity for him to enter the police service. He is left with four months now before completing his 10-month course. After four months, he hopes to be able to show his superiors that he is a qualified law enforcer, armed with a certificate in criminology.

Young Tshepang Moyanti, 19, hopes her service, as a volunteer police officer would be vital in her personal profile few years after completing a degree programme. She aspires to join the Botswana Defense Force (BDF) as a cadet officer. She says she will be enrolling for university education when the University of Botswana (UB) new semester starts later this year.

On Friday this first batch of volunteer police officers were still waiting to learn how much they would be paid per month.

The volunteers, who will be wearing bibs or tops written, 'Volunteer Police', for identification purposes, could start work as early as this week or early next month, operating from two of the porta cabins located at Block 5 and Block 6, courtesy of the Grand Palm Hotel and Casino, which bought the facilities for P200, 000 for the two police clusters.