POLICE SHAME: WHAT NEXT

IT is a shame that the rot that has permeated the Zambia Police Service is now a subject that has attracted high level contacts between Zambian and Tanzanian government officials. This is because the conduct of Zambian police officers has sunk to an all time low that it has even affected the country’s capacity to earn revenue through border charges. The reason being that Tanzanian truck drivers have just decided that “enough is enough” and have decided to act in the only way they think could attract attention and bring change. The result of their action has resulted in over 1, 500 trucks being marooned on the Tanzanian side of the border at Nakonde because they refuse to cross into Zambia citing the many roadblocks they’ve had to go through and what it takes, or costs to go past these. The congestion was as a result of a five-day strike by the Tanzanian drivers during which they refused to cross into Zambia on account of being harassed by police in Zambia. As Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA) Assistant Customs Manager Jomimmassa Nsindo explained, the drivers accused the Zambian police of setting up too many roadblocks and seizing money from them. “We received a complaint from the drivers that they were not treated well in Zambia and most of the harassment was coming from the police. “After studying the situation, we told them that Zambia was a free nation and it has the right to protect the country by doing what they think is safe, but corruption on the side of the police cannot be tolerated,” said Mr Nsindo. Although Mr Nsindo condemned the protest by the drivers, saying it was illegal and could not be condoned, we know better that he was just being polite. We know better and will not pretend that the Tanzanians were wrong about our police officers. It is common knowledge among Zambians what obtains at these road blocks that one finds, especially those mounted by the traffic wing. They are simply set up to fleece money from motorists. We know for sure that Tanzanian truck drivers make a very soft target, what with the language barrier. No wonder they simply had to act. And that has been at a cost to the nation’s revenue collection as confirmed by Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA) Commissioner - Customs Services Sydney Chibbabbuka that the strike by the drivers had affected tax collection on the Zambian side. “Zambia is an importing country and we collect trade taxes into the country, when there is a disruption it reduces tax collection,” Mr Chibbabbuka said. Unfortunately though, the men and women in uniform do not seem to realise how destructive and costly their conduct is not only to the country’s reputation, but to its revenue base as well. But even as we condemn the men and women on the ground for their corrupt tendencies, we won’t spare the Police High Command that it has failed to instil discipline within the ranks. It has failed to act on concerns raised by the public on the shortcomings in all police operations and the rot is there for all to see. The Police Service cannot simply continue being indifferent to the concerns raised by the citizens. It needs to raise its bar and win the confidence of the public and be relevant in the nation.

PURSUING JUSTICE AND EQUITY WITH INTEGRITY