Dear Editor,
HE shakeup of the senior provincial command of the Zambia Police Service is a Tsunami. This is a huge shakeup in which many senior retired officers have been recalled on medium term contracts (Zambian Observer, November 11, 2022).
The Zambia Police Command under the leadership of Inspector General Lemmy Kajoba have indeed their own objectives probably related to efficiency and effectiveness, but I have serious questions on the recall of so many senior retired officers.
Is the Zambia Police Service lacking internal capacity building programmes to warrant the recall of so many senior retired officers? Why not contract the senior retired officers as mentors so that they pass on these skillsets to the trained young ones with gaps in their performance due to skills or experience?
The recall of such a big number of retired senior officers will demotivate the young ones who are well trained and are committed to their profession as police officers because of too many roadblocks in their career development.
Measures like these that have an effect of polarising the police service. The frustrated officers are likely to form a cartel and work with the opposition political parties with a view of gaining promotion into senior ranks once there is regime change.
There are many options that the Zambia Police Service can employ to retain some retired senior police officers whose skillsets are crucial to improved service delivery.
One of these is to engage them as training consultants with the Lilayi Police Training School or as paid mentors on contract. I really doubt if the recall of such huge number of senior retired officers is aimed at improving service delivery.
These are jobs being created for the internal UPND security team that had access to the state security system. I now understand why our intelligence security system is so porous.
MIKE CHUNGU.
Author
