PARLIAMENTARIANS have expressed concern over lack of vehicles and stationery at most police stations, saying the absence of such basic needs could fuel corruption.
BY VENERANDA LANGA
The issue was brought up in Parliament last Wednesday by St Mary’s MP Unganai Tarusenga (MDC-T) who claimed at some police stations officers had resorted to asking suspects or complainants to pay for typing of State papers due to lack of stationery.
Buhera South MP Joseph Chinotimba (Zanu PF) also claimed that in the rural areas police officers failed to clear livestock for sale due to lack of transport, an issue which he said could encourage payment of bribes to get a police officer to clear livestock without verification.
“People intending to clear their livestock for sale outside their designated areas are told that the police do not have transport. The procedure for the clearance of livestock for the purpose of selling is that a police officer has to visit the cattle pen belonging to the person intending to sell his/her cattle. The village head and witnesses should be consulted in order to confirm proof of ownership,” Chinotimba said.
“However, instead of the police following that procedure, people are just visiting the police station to clear their cattle at a police station without any proof of ownership,” he said.
Chinotimba said corruption was rampant with the village head and witnesses now asking for a token in order to travel with the owner of the cattle to be sold for confirmation by the police.
“Are we not encouraging corruption in our police force? Our police officers end up receiving bribes in order to process a clearance of sale certificate for an individual. Stock theft becomes rife. What should we do because our police force does not have vehicles? Is it not possible for you to give them motor vehicles and not bicycles so that each police station will have a vehicle to use?” he said.
- Chamisa under fire over US$120K donation
- Mavhunga puts DeMbare into Chibuku quarterfinals
- Pension funds bet on Cabora Bassa oilfields
- Councils defy govt fire tender directive
Keep Reading
Deputy Minister of Home Affairs Obedingwa Mguni said there was no government policy that required investigating police officers to use their own funds to finance investigations.
“However, the country is facing a backlog on the financial side where some of the patriotic officers end up bringing innovativeness in their investigations and do something from whatever they have, but that is not government policy.
“It is also not government policy to make the complainant or the suspect to pay for the typing of the dockets or other documents. That will constitute corruption,” Mguni said.
