IG pleads for govt support

Inspector General (IG) of Police Merlyn Yolamu has asked the Malawi Government to support the service in its quest for modernisation.

The country’s top cop said this in an interview on Friday on the sidelines of a passing out parade of 1 614 police recruits at Police Training School in Kanjedza, Limbe.

Yolamu said the police service needs modern equipment for effective service delivery.

She said: “The police need modern equipment and good conditions of service. So, what we are saying is that the Ministry of Homeland Security and other relevant departments and agencies of the government must support us. We need to be supported in our modernisation agenda.”

Yolamu said there is need for police to have nationwide digital communication systems that can ease police officers work and good public service announcement communication systems, among others.

She further said that at present, a majority of the police infrastructure is old and not tailor-made for police work which makes it difficult for police officers to execute their duties. She said the old infrastructure also affects the training of officers.

Yolamu said there is no forensic laboratory for training police officers which makes it challenging for the officers once they finish their training as they miss out on certain elements of police work.

The IG also highlighted lack of bed space the trainee police officers, citing a situation where about 700 of the new police officers had to use alternative housing which is not conducive to police training.

While stressing that the recruitment of the new police officers has boosted the police force by 12 percent which will improve service delivery, Yolamu said there is need for more police officers to be recruited to meet the recommended United Nations (UN) ratio of one police officer to 450 people.

According to Yolamu, the current ratio for Malawi Police Service officers is one to over 1 000 people, which is not ideal.

In a separate interview, Minister of Homeland Security Jean Sendeza, who was the guest of honour at the event, said the government appreciates the role the police play in society and promised that the Tonse Alliance administration would look into the concerns.

“Government is committed to the development of the police so that it becomes the best in the Sadc [Southern Africa Development Community] region and we will support them in acquiring modern equipment. We need police officers who are well taken care of,” she said.

Sendeza said if police officers are well taken care of, it will be guaranteed that they will be able to execute their duties diligently without fear or favour and help the government in its development agenda.

In her official speech delivered during the passing out parade, the minister warned the new recruits against engaging in corruption.

She also urged them to be non-partisan, refrain from immorality and not demand money from civilians, including complainants who seek police services.

While acknowledging low remuneration among the police service, the minister urged the new police recruits to find other legal ways of finding money instead of being corrupted which will make them lose their credibility.

Further, she said police officers must stop begging for promotions or favours from politicians and instead work hard while respecting the high command of the Malawi Police Service hierarchy.

Among the new police recruits, 680 were women while 934 were men. Two persons with albinism were also among the new recruits and this is the first time in the history of the Malawi Police Service that they have taken on board persons with albinism.