Farmers irked by slow recruitment of police reservists

SESRIEM - Farmers in the areas of Sesriem and Sossusvlei in the Hardap region have said they are displeased with the slow pace at which police reservists are being recruited.

A reserve police officer performs general law enforcement duties, which include street patrols, conducting preliminary police investigations, report writing, traffic control and other basic law enforcement functions. Reservists work closely with police officers on duty or alone at times.

Speaking to Nampa on behalf of the farmers during a recent police visit to the region, Karl-Heinz Oosthuizen said farmers in the area submitted their applications to become police reservists in 2017, but most of them have not received a response to date.

He said there are people who are willing to become police reservists to assist the Namibian Police in the fulfilment of their duties and activities in terms of Section 13 of the Police Act, Act 19 of 1990.

“We submitted our applications in 2017 and recently, we were told that the applications are still being processed at the head office in Windhoek, while some were disqualified for not producing employment contracts,” he added.

According to Oosthuizen, close to 99% of the applicants were farm owners or their children. He questioned why they need to produce an employment contract if they are the employers on registered farms and generate a fixed income monthly.

He also said farmers want to be fully involved in protecting their properties and livestock, noting that reservists in other parts of the country play a pivotal role in assisting the police in reducing the crime rate.

In response to the farmers’ outcry, Deputy Inspector General of Operations of the Namibian Police Joseph Shikongo said bureaucracy in the system is one of the contributing factors, stating that there is nothing sinister in recruiting reservists should they meet all the requirements.

“Farmers with deeds of registration of their farms should qualify as reservists as they already have an income, so I don’t know where this delay is coming from,” Shikongo said.