Botswana: The Minister of Defence and Security, Thomas Kagiso Mmusi, has applauded the Ministry’s Boards, Councils and committee members for their continued commitment and dedication to ensuring A SAFE AND SECURE NATION for the citizenry.
Speaking on the occasion of the meet and greet session with Boards, Councils and Committees in Gaborone today, Minister Mmusi has said for one to be appointed to serve in these Boards does not come cheap since the membership is anchored on the Government’s high degree of trust that they will diligently and professionally apply themselves.
“𝘍𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴, 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘶𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘴𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘮𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘦𝘷𝘰𝘵𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨,” he said.
Minister Mmusi highlighted that the members have been appointed in accordance with the respective relevant legislation, which calls for them to abide by the respective acts.
He expressed concern that the country has experienced an upsurge of cases of crime that calls for a collective effort, hence the need to complement each other one way or the other to attain the intended goal.
“𝘠𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘷𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘴𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘴𝘢𝘧𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘴 𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘝𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 2036. 𝘞𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘥𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘭𝘭…𝘸𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘴𝘢𝘧𝘦𝘵𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘪𝘨𝘯 𝘥𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘪𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵, 𝘪𝘯 𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘮𝘺 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘰𝘮,” he said.
In an endeavour to ensure the smooth running and effectiveness of the Boards, the Minister promised an open-door policy through the Office of the Permanent Secretary for consultation and engagement. He stated that the Ministry will make every effort to make engagements more regular and scheduled for efficiency and effectiveness.
He informed the public that his team is executing mandates on behalf of the Government.
Minister Mmusi further urged the Boards to develop strategic annual plans with performance targets effective financial year. He also encouraged different Boards and the management of the Ministry to conduct and facilitate site visits to inform themselves of the situation on the ground.
On giving her reciprocal remarks, the outgoing Chairperson of the National Parole Board, Justice Mercy Garekwe, said the mandate of the Board is to reintegrate people who have been convicted of criminal activities back into mainstream society.
She said it is a very sensitive and challenging mandate as they have to try and balance the interest of society while at the same time ensuring that prisoners who are fully assessed and rehabilitated are recommended for release before the expiration of their sentences.
Justice Garekwe also pointed out that there is a need for extensive public education on Parole.
“𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘤 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘻𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘗𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘭𝘦. 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘭𝘶𝘥𝘦 𝘦𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘳𝘦𝘩𝘢𝘣𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘉𝘰𝘵𝘴𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘢 𝘗𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘚𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘉𝘰𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘢 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘢 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘭𝘦,” she said.
The outgoing Chairperson thanked the Minister for appointing her to serve on the Parole Board. She also thanked Commissioner of Prisons Dinah Marathe and her Team for their unwavering support. She said the support from the Prison Service makes their work seamless.
Meanwhile, the Vice Chairperson of the Prisons Council, Mike Shemah Dube, also appreciated both the Ministry and Botswana Prison Service for the immense support they continue to receive as the Council.
He highlighted that the finalization of the draft Charter as well as sitting at the Ministry Headquarters, are critical in ensuring that all processes are executed within the parameters of the law as they deliver their task of ensuring Prison Officer’s appeals are listened to and adjudicated accordingly.