Officially opening a two day Airborne Policing External Stakeholders Conference organised by the Botswana Police Service (BPS) Air Support Branch in Kasane recently, Mr Tsimako said incidents of poaching in Chobe are disturbing and cannot be ignored any longer. He challenged the Conference to come up with concrete ideas and solutions on how best to protect species that are quickly diminishing.

The Commissioner said the BPS Air Support Branch, amongst its duties plays an important role in eliminating incidents of poaching and even tracks criminals who poach animals in the Chobe area. He added that the Conference was organised to give the relevant stakeholders in the aviation industry an opportunity to deliberate, share experiences and be able to strategise better.

Still at the Conference, Mr Tsimako embraced the participation of stakeholders in the development of crime fighting strategies that enhanced police operations. He said it is only through planning together that the stakeholders could harmonise different skills and knowledge in order to produce realistic operating procedures that could bear fruits.

The Conference which was attended by officers from the Botswana Defence Force, Department of Wildlife and National Parks, Civil Aviation Authority of Botswana and a representative from the Ministry of Transport and Communications was meant to appraise external stakeholders on the successes and challenges faced by the BPS Air Support Branch on its normal operation assignments as well as incidents of poaching which are prevalent in the Chobe area.

The Commissioner further said since the Conference brought together all stakeholders who play an important role in facilitating the delivery of airborne law enforcement in the country, there is need for them to develop short and long term strategies of how to deal with the current challenges especially poaching which is prevalent in the Chobe area. Mr Tsimako added that the Stakeholders participation is also emphasised in the BPS Corporate Development Strategy (2009 to 2016) which seeks to involve relevant stakeholders in the identification of crime prevention strategies that would mitigate threats posed by increasing crime levels.

In her welcome remarks, the Divisional Commander North, Senior Assistant Commissioner Dinah Marathe said poaching has developed over the years from minor transgressions to become a lucrative business which now present a challenge to the Botswana Police and relevant stakeholders. Senior Assistant Commissioner Marathe illustrated the challenge of poaching by indicating that from January 2011 to February 2012, 49 incidents of poaching were recorded in Kasane and surrounding areas and 44 suspects being Batswana and foreigners were brought before the courts of law. She also indicated that 48 Elephants’ tusks were recovered during the same period.