Minister of Home Land Security, Jean Sendeza (MP), has assured security officers of better welfare in their respective work stations.
Speaking a recent the tour in the Northern Region, the minister said there among other changes are salary restructuring and utilization of digital systems to replace old modes of working.
“Today I was here at Mzuzu Police Headquarters where I had a chance of interacting with security officers there were concerns raised by some security officers like allowances and improved salaries. I have assured them that under the current government we want to take security agencies to another level whereby everyone will be happy when discharging their duties,” Sendeza said.
She said she had taken note of the issues raised in terms of salaries, allowances, housing and mobility and that these will be taken care of. For them to execute their duties in a manner that is properly done they need to have vehicles that are in good condition and their welfare too,” she said.
The minister said there are about 120 vehicles that have been acquired to support the law enforcers in dealing with security issues.
She further said that government is very committed to promote security officers who have worked for many years in all departments on merit.
On his part Commissioner of Police Responsible for Northern Region, Richard Luhanga, said police officers need regular trainings to update their knowledge.
“Police trainings always change. New information and knowledge is coming up but even on the old ones you need to refresh your officers. Training is very paramount in the service because that is the vehicle that will equip our officers to discharge their duties professionally,” he said.
Luhanga therefore asked the minister to construct a place where these trainings would be taking place helping to update security officers’ knowledge.
“Discipline trainings of officers also help them to be of high disciplined because they are highly updated and well informed so that they understand the situations better having the right skills,” he added.
In a related development Deputy Commissioner for Northern Region Immigration Office Maxwell Makoko asked the minister to consider moving Dzaleka Refugee Camp to bordering districts.
“The reason we do that if you look the way Dzaleka camp is located, it is right in the heart of Malawi in this case close to the capital city. So we look at how people travel through so many districts to get to the camp. But we should bear in mind what type of people are travelling through our country. We do not know what they are capable of so for the safety of our people that is why we are asking for this,” Makoko said.
Ministry of Home Land Security toured Northern Region to appreciates other developments taking place in the region for example progress of houses for the prison warders at Mzuzu Prison and Ipyana in Karonga among others.