Africa-Press – Botswana. Government will establish a Special Support Group (SSG) camp in Ghanzi District to help deal with stock theft challenges and deter cross border crime.
Minister of Defence and Security, Mr Kagiso Mmusi said this at a recent kgotla meeting in Grootlaagte and a farmers meeting in Ghanzi.
Mr Mmusi said he was hopeful that the camp would go a long way in protecting and preserving the beef industry which was a major economic activity in the Ghanzi region.
He said stock theft was a major concern as it could relegate farmers to destitution and that there was need for government to intensify efforts to eliminate the crime.
He said eliminating stock theft would ensure that President Dr Mokgweetsi Masisi’s efforts to help farmers improve their livestock bore fruit, adding that government had the duty to ensure that the efforts benefitted Batswana and improved their livelihoods.
The minister also said the establishment of a stock theft division was underway and some of 1 000 police recruits cyrrently under training would soon graduate and be deployed under the new stock theft division.
He gave assurance that the division would be capacitated and resourced to deal effectively with the crime. Minister Mmusi said there was need to fight stock theft from all angles as foreign investors and Batswana wanted peace.
Eliminating stock theft, he said, needed team work and collaboration, he said and urged farmers to ensure that their cattle were secure while police were doing their part.
Although he acknowledged the role that stock theft prevention groups could play in the fight, he said they should not be in the frontline as could face harm from cattle rustlers.
He added he could not arm individuals but would arm police officers fighting stock theft syndicates.
Some stock theft prevention members had informed the minister that they were not safe from stock theft criminals as they carried dangerous weapons.
Mr Mmusi also urged police officers to be disciplined and not to participate in any form of crime, adding that they were police officers 24 hours every day. Regarding challenges associated with stock theft cases, Mr Mmusi said the Ministry of Justice was busy interrogating the issues.
In her comments kgosi Annah Rankho also called for zero tolerance for stock theft, saying livestock was the mainstay of the Ghanzi economy and that stakeholder collaboration was crucial in fighting stock theft.
For his part, chairperson of Ghanzi beef producers association, Mr Quinten Barnes said overcoming stock theft crime should be a joint mission, adding that they wanted to engage the police and court officials on the issue.
He described stock theft as a hindrance to farmers’ growth, job creation and poverty eradication efforts.
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