LCC to recruit 140 police officers
LUSAKA City Council (LCC) is set to recruit 140 council police officers who will undergo intensive police training at Lilayi College as a long term measure to police the city following the withdrawal of security personnel from the streets, human resources and administration committee chairperson, Christopher Shakafuswa has disclosed.
Mr Shakafuswa told the Daily Nation yesterday that the selection process for those who applied for training was ongoing.
Mr. Shakafuswa recently led a delegation of councilors to Mozambique to draw lessons on how the local government authorities have maintained their towns in that country.
He said the LCC was keen on making Lusaka one of the cleanest cities in Zambia and that through exchange visits, the local authority will ensure that the best practices learnt from other countries are replicated in the city.
“The council is in the process of recruiting about 140 officers in preparation for the pulling out of the men and women in uniform and apart from sending them to Lilayi for training, we just want to make sure that we police the city in a better way and that is why we are here. We are currently doing the selection process.
“Once that is done, we are going to send them to the police training college to be trained after which all of them will be conferred with police certificates. They will undergo the same training that the Zambia Police Service officers go through.
Mr Shakafuswa said this will be the second batch because “we sent the first group, consisting of 50 officers early last year. We are hoping to get them equipment, including firearms so that they are able to police the city effectively.”
He said the Zambian delegation, which arrives today from Mozambique, had learnt a lot over the need for engagement with the vendors through education and sensitisation before these trained officers will be deployed to man the streets.
While in Maputo, the delegation paid a courtesy call on Zambia’s High Commissioner to Mozambique, Paul Lumbi, who encouraged the team to put the lessons learnt into practice.