Government has put on hold the decision to roll out the police volunteer program that was piloted in Gaborone and its periphery.
Addressing a kgotla meeting recently in Tlokweng, the Minister of Defence, Justice and Security, Mr Dikgakgamatso Seretse said government put the police volunteer program on hold in order to come up with an inclusive program that recognizes and rewards volunteerism against crime. He appealed to members of the public to help with ideas on how to develop such a program.
The minister said the volunteer program was introduced as the first paying program to support cluster committees and encourage more people, especially the youth to voluntarily take part in the fight against crime. He said they have observed in places where the program was being piloted that a number of cluster committee members also wanted to be paid like police volunteers and some of such active cluster committee members opted to abandon the voluntary work because they could not be similarly paid.
The Minister pleaded with members of the public to understand that government cannot hire every volunteer due to budgetary constraints. He encouraged them to promote the spirit of volunteerism by willingly fighting crime without payment, just like in the past.
He however commended the people of Tlokweng for their contribution in the fight crime against crime, saying such efforts have led to a significant reduction of crime in the village.