Partner police to fight crime, says Nzuwah

Crime Reporter
Zimbabwe can only create a crime-free environment if the general public and corporate community partner police, a top Government official has said.
Police Service Commission chairman Dr Mariyawanda Nzuwah said it was disheartening that the force continued to operate with very little resources owing to limited fiscal support due to the existence of illegal Western sanctions on Zimbabwe.
Dr Nzuwah was speaking at a pass-out parade of 441 police officers in Harare yesterday.
The officers graduated after undergoing six months’ training.
Dr Nzuwah said the Police Service Commission would continue to press central Government to adequately fund the force.
He commended uniformed forces for remaining resolute by selflessly serving the nation despite poor working conditions.
“The Police Service Commission shall continue to lobby for the continuous review of remuneration and conditions of service for all civil servants, in line with the cost of living and aligning them to those prevailing within the region,” he said.
Dr Nzuwah – who also chairs the Public Service Commission – encouraged civil servants to fully embrace Government’s indigenisation policy.
“It should always remain vivid in the minds of Zimbabweans that, as a nation, we may have attained political independence, but as long as we have not taken total control of our resources, we remain an oppressed people,” he said.
Police were urged to ensure peace prevails during the planned referendum and harmonised elections this year.
Dr Nzuwah noted with concern that there were some unruly elements within the rank and file of the police, who had “the temerity and audacity to engage in corrupt activities”.
“As police officers, it is paramount to remember that you are the vanguards of peace and security, hence your moral uprightness should always be beyond reproach,” Dr Nzuwah said.