Kawana promises to address police challenges

The Minister of Home Affairs, Immigration, Safety and Security, Albert Kawana has said the ministry will address the challenges faced by the Namibian Police Force as funds become available. Kawana was speaking during the official opening of the week-long Namibian Police Force (NamPol) senior commander conference at Ongwediva on Monday, saying he is aware of many challenges faced by the police force across the board. He indicated that fighting crime cannot be the responsibility of the police alone and is something that requires intervention from different angles, particularly from the institutions charged with addressing socio-economic issues which, often drive criminals to commit crime. Kawana announced that next month, they will start training 1 700 police cadets to help address the lack of manpower faced by NamPol. 'I am fully aware that in the past you faced several challenges such as lack of transport due to the aging fleet, limited promotion opportunities due to the gap between inspector and chief in spector, lack of police accommodation, lack of rations and lack of uniforms, to mention but a few. I am very grateful that our government was able to financially meet us halfway,' he said. He added that with the additional financial resources, they were able to purchase more vehicles. The force was also able to promote more than 7 000 police officers and train just over 1 000 police officers. Meanwhile, NamPol Inspector-General Joseph Shikongo indicated that the conference's main objectives are to assess the level of implementation of the resolutions of the 2022 conference, identify new challenges and setbacks, and strategise further on how to address both the existing and emerging challenges impacting the provision of effective policing services in the country. The conference is being held under the theme 'Embracing innovation to navigate policing challenges'. It ends on Friday. Source: The Namibia News Agency