daniel chigunwe
Crime Reporter
Senior police officers need to come up with adequate measures to curb criminal activities and drug abuse and have effective strategies to maintain peace and stability, Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage Minister Kazembe Kazembe said yesterday.
Speaking at the ZRP 2023 Senior Officers conference in Harare, Minister Kazembe said the police should also redouble their efforts in guaranteeing a safer Zimbabwe for all its citizens.
“An effective public order management strategy is one of the foundational pillars of the maintenance and sustenance of peace and stability. Recreational facilities and public utilities such as sports stadiums should remain havens of peace, fun and sportsmanship.
“I am highly disturbed by the violence recorded at Barbourfields Stadium on 10 September 2023, during a soccer match between Highlanders and Dynamos football clubs. Such incidences trigger an important dialogue amongst police authorities. If anything, it is a very sobering litmus test for our capabilities to handle spontaneous public disorder situations.
“Your discourse therefore should evolve around an evaluation of the effectiveness of the obtaining public order management regimes, requisite public order management equipment and the selection of appropriate personnel for potentially violent incidents, among other important matters. As a Ministry, I wish to reiterate that in pursuit of peace, security and order, the safety of our men and women in uniform is non-negotiable.
“Similarly, drug and substance abuse continues to be a thorny issue in our country. A good number of our young people suffer from various mental health challenges resulting from drugs and substance abuse such as crystal methametraphine, cocaine, dagga and broncleer. This unprecedented level in drug and substance abuse is alarming and is a potent threat to national security requiring a holistic multi-sectoral approach in order to contain this tide,” he said.
He urged the senior officers to take advantage of the conference and formulate concrete policing interventions and recommendations for solid partnerships with other key stakeholders, lest the country becomes a drug den.
“Finally, I would like to assure you that the Ministry remains committed to extending support to the organisation and continuously engaging the government to optimally resource the Zimbabwe Republic Police,” he said.
Minister Kazembe applauded the ZRP for policing the just ended harmonised elections in an excellent way.
“Certainly, the professional approach to policing elections coupled with the Government’s desire for a thriving democracy, are the key antidotes to realising our national vision for an upper middle income economy by the year 2030. The high level of political maturity and tolerance demonstrated by our people is a remarkable index of our growing democracy. This notwithstanding, we are aware that there are merchants of evil that have never wished our country well right from the first day of our independence.
“Resultantly, they relentlessly lurk in the shadows disguised as champions of democracy and rule of law as they seek to waylay the gullible among our citizenry. I thus cannot over emphasise the need for police to remain vigilant and also deepen intelligence networks that will inform proactive policing in this regard.
“Strategic review conferences of this nature provide an opportunity to candidly engage each other, ask the difficult questions and make necessary reforms. While we still stick with the trusted human-centred approaches to policing, it is also time to think about aiding human efforts with modern automated policing technologies,” Minister Kazembe said.
He promised to pursue the upgrade of police information management and technology-aided policing with vigour since the police were being faced with the enormous challenge of increasing criminal sophistry which they must match with acquisition of state-of-the-art technologies.
“In the court of public opinion, the police are often judged with both praises and rebuke while the countless efforts of professionalism and selflessness often go unnoticed. I say this not to lessen the minimum expectations of discipline and decorum which any police officer must repose, but the ability to critic or appraise an institution is in itself an indicator of a transparent client service charter which clearly spells out key service deliverables.
“In that light, I want to commend you on all efforts being pursued to strive for a positive image in the public eye as I entreat you to continue engaging the public and delivering on their expectations for enhanced service delivery.
“As a matter of fact, this conference comes on the heels of the ZRP Strategic Plan Mid Term Review. This process presented an opportunity to refocus and determine whether the organisation is sailing in the right direction or not. Self-introspection and a thorough interrogation of issues militating against progress is cardinal,” he said.
Minister Kazembe said it was also disheartening to note that the police service has not been successful in meeting some of its set targets.
Online Reporter