Government has reduced the number of people to be recruited in the
Zambia Police Service by a thousand this year.
Home Affairs Deputy Minister, Panji Kaunda says government has
decided to reduce the number from the initial 1, 500 due to financial
challenges.
The 500 recruits to be cruited as police officers is against a national
deficit of about 80,000 police officers to provide security to the citizens
and safeguard property.
ZANIS reports that Colonel Kaunda said this in Kapiri Mposhi when he
paid a courtesy call on District Commissioner Beatrice Sikazwe
yesterday.
The Deputy minister said government was however still committed to
recruiting more police officers in view of the low staffing levels of
police officers currently being experienced in the country.
He added that the recruitment exercise will be resumed once budgetary
allocations are permissible.
The Deputy Minister also revealed that 400 individuals mostly school
leavers will be recruited in the Prison Service this year.
“We were supposed to recruit 1, 500 people in the Zambia Police
Service. But that number has been reduced to 500 while 400 individuals
will be recruited in the Zambia Prison Service…
“ We would have loved to recruit more personnel in view of the low
staffing levels in the Zambia Police but we have some financial
challenge.” Col. Kaunda said.
Col Kaunda however said government was still committed to recruiting
more personnel in order to address the staff deficit currently prevailing
in the Zambia Police Service.
Meanwhile, Col Kaunda has revealed that government would construct
3, 600 housing units for the defence wings.
Col Kaunda said that government’s housing scheme was aimed at
addressing the accommodation challenge that the men and women in
uniforms were facing.
“I have a military background. I understand the needs of our officers in
the Zambia Police Service and other defence wings. The Zambia Police
is the point of defence.
“ And as government, we are committed to ensuring that we attend to
the needs of our men and women in uniform… Government has
initiated a housing scheme aimed at constructing 3, 600 houses for our
officers. We are just waiting for approval from the treasury. We want to
change the way of doing things and ensure that the Zambia Police
Service becomes efficient.” said Col Kaunda.
Col Kanda observed that low staffing levels, inadequate accommodation
and lack of reliable transport were the major challenges facing the
Zambia Police and Prison Service adding that government was
committed to addressing all these challenges currently being faced by
the Zambia Police and Prison Service.
And Kapiri Mposhi District Commissioner, Beatrice Sikazwe has
bemoaned the low staffing levels in the Zambia Police Service in Kapiri
Mposhi district.
Ms. Sikazwe explained that Kapiri Mposhi was a vast district that
needed sufficient manpower in the Zambia Police Service in order to
effectively curb crime noting that efforts to effectively curb crime in
the area were being hampered by inadequate personnel of Police
personnel.
She urged the Ministry of Home Affairs to train selected individuals in
crime prevention and revive the neighbourhood watch committees in
communities to enhance security in the country.
“The shortages in police personnel can be mitigated by the
neighbourhood watch committees which proved to be an effective link
between the community and the Zambia Police Service in the fighting
crime in the past,” Ms. Sikazwe said.
And Ms. Sikazwe appealed to the Ministry to consider building prison
facilities in Kapiri Mposhi district .
She said this was because the Zambia Police Service in the area was
finding it difficult to look after convicts and criminal suspects due to
inadequate holding cells.
The District Commissioner stated that it was taking long to ferry
convicts to Kabwe district where prison facilities exist thereby putting a
burden on the Zambia Police Service to feed individuals that have been
convicted in the courts of law.
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