NEW POLICE POSTS TURN INTO WHITE ELEPHANTS?
DELAYS by the Lusaka City Council (LCC) to release outstanding Constituency Development Funds (CDF) is hampering opening of three newly built police posts in Matero constituency.
Area Member of Parliament Lloyd Kaziya told the Daily Nation that new police posts in SOS in Matero North, Kapwepwe ward and Lilanda were not yet operational because of lack of furniture.
He said he disappointed with the council for delaying to release the outstanding monies to buy furniture so that the police posts could become operational.
The area Member of Parliament said that he had authorised the purchase of furniture using the balance from the previous allocation of the CDF. The law maker said he had already approved the purchase of the furniture three months ago and wondered why it had taken long for the money to be released.
“I think the bureaucracy of having to go through the council and everything else is what is delaying us otherwise we have already authorised the purchase order for all these police stations I mentioned,” he said.
Mr. Kaziya assured the people in his constituency that he would do everything possible to ensure that the furniture was bought for the three police posts.
“Those are things we promised people of Matero that we shall increase the number of health posts and police posts, we what to deliver that in our first year of being in office and a lot more,” he said.
Meanwhile Mwembeshi ward 27 councilor Kelvin Kaunda is also disappointed by the behaviour of officers from the Lusaka Council Police (LCP) who were guarding the vacant police post in Barlastone but had since abandoned it.
“I am quiet disappointed with the conduct of LCP they were sent to guard the Barlastone police, it was constructed at a very huge cost. The conduct of LCP is inconceivable, irresponsible to say the least,” he said. Mr. Kaunda explained that there was no way the officers could abandon such a project without necessarily engaging the local leadership. “As you may have noticed already even before we can open up the facility some of the gadgets have been uprooted, this is very disappointing.
“l want to challenge my colleagues at LCC to get back to the site and begin rendering the service up until the police station is officially handed over to the Ministry of Home Affairs,” Mr. Kaunda said.