During the NDP8/DDP5 plan period, government established constituency offices, which are manned by the respective members of Parliament, who are assisted by the support staff who perform administrative functions. The two constituency offices are located in Mochudi. The offices were established to enhance accessibility of the two political representatives by their electorates.
14.2.2Administration of Justice
There is a magistrate’s court situated in Mochudi. During the NDP8 period the Record Management System of the court was computerized and the intention is to integrate it with other stakeholders’ systems such as Attorney General, Police, Prisons.
Construction of an office block and four staff houses in Mochudi started in April 2002 and has been completed in April 2003. Successful completion of this project ensures adequate and suitable office and residential accommodation for the staff of this department.
This is the institution that is dealing with enforcing customary law, presiding over criminal and civil cases as contained in the court warrants. At Kgatleng, the Bakgatla Tribal Authority headquarters is based in Mochudi.
Botswana Police Service is committed to developing efficient and effective methods of reducing crime and making the communities safer. The following is the crime statistics in the district.
Table 14.62 Offences in Kgatleng District for period 1997 to 2002.
Offences
Years
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
Penal Code Offences
1777
1774
1956
2118
8809
2519
Traffic Offences
3841
4960
7181
6919
2420
9135
Other
399
505
396
287
787
1000
Total
6017
7239
9533
9324
12016
12654
Source: Botswana Police NB: 1) Penal Code offences refers to all offences against persons and property
2) Other offences refer to offences such as possession of dagga, littering etc. Although crime in all its form is intolerable , crime of particular concern to the district are
Penal code and traffic offences.
14.2.5Prisons
The only Prison facility in the district is located in Mochudi. The Prisons Service has committed itself to undertaking a number of initiatives. During the NDP8 period, the Prisons Act was amended to allow the release of terminally ill inmates to be taken care of under the Home Based Care Scheme.
14.2.6Independent Electoral Commission
The Commission successfully conducted the 1999 general elections. Various government officials were engaged to assist in the elections process throughout the District. Another major achievement for the commission is the National Referendum on the Judiciary, which was conducted in November 2001.
A voter apathy study was also commissioned in order to determine the factors behind the diminishing voter turnout at elections. The findings will form a basis for voter education strategies, which will be integrated into the larger voter education curriculum.
14.2.7Immigration
The role of the department is to protect society against the entrance, residence and movement in and out of the country of people with undesirable behaviour and at the same time ensures smooth passage of genuine travellers. It also offers immigration-related services such as passport service and acquisition of citizenship to the public through its field office in Mochudi.
1. To provide a quality service to the communities of Kgatleng by providing for their needs and focus on the reduction of crime including traffic offences.
To reduce the level of preventable crime by 10%
To reduce traffic accidents by 5%
To reduce response time to report of crimes.
2. To increase public confidence in the Police district personnel by developing community style policing.
To enhance existing crime prevention activities.
To have improved cases disposal by 5% by the end of plan period.