Boiditswe in new 'missing persons' plea

NELSON DIRENG
Correspondent | Friday June 18, 2010 00:00

Boiditswe said the importance of the programme is to avoid chiefs at ward level from tackling issues of lost relatives. He said there are cases where families have failed to locate their family members because of lack of such a programme. 'It is surprising because most of the time the so called lost people are in Botswana,' he said.

Boiditswe said sometimes the same people aren't really lost but have instead run away leaving their family members worried. He said those who run away start living secretive lives and at times go to the extent of changing their names. 'Some of them don't have Omang's making them a danger to society as they cannot be located if they commit crimes,' he said. Boiditswe said the same people are always at a disadvantage as they never have anyone close to turn to during tough times. He said the lucky ones are able to return home alive.

Boiditswe however said the unlucky ones are returned home deceased. 'In this case it is difficult to find the deceased persons family members because in most cases the person would have left for so long he would have been forgotten by people in the community,' he said. Boiditswe however said with a programme like Rebatliseng such issues would be avoided. People whose family members go missing will at least know their whereabouts, he said.

The Minister for Presidential Affairs and Public Administration, Lesego Motsumi however disagreed with Boiditswe's motion, saying that currently there are programmes, which have slots where such issues are accommodated.Programmes such as Itshireletse on Botswana Television (Btv), for instance, dedicate the last few minutes to announcing missing persons. She said the general public is also given the opportunity to report missing persons to Radio Botswana and The Daily News who also provide space for such issues.  Motsumi reiterated that said she does not see the need for a 30-minute programme aimed at looking for lost people because the number of lost people in Botswana doesn't coincide. 'The reason South Africa has programmes like this is because they have a population of 48 million compared to the meagre two million Botswana has,' she said.

Deputy Chairman of the Ntlo ya Dikgosi, Kgosi Lotlaamoreng II urged Batswana to report missing relatives on time. He said that most people do not report and in this case no action can be taken. Lotlaamoreng II however said nothing can be done about people who decide to relocate away from their families. 'No one in this country can force anybody to live in a place they don't like,' he said. The Barolong paramount chief said as long as the person is sensible they cannot be declared missing.