{UAH} GILES MAHAGE YOU GOT MAIL!

\\\\\Mr Mahame;

This piece was written before Saddam died and it was not written by me. Read and see what it says about the failure of the police under Kanyihura! Recently, under in a Malua joint, i had that police are now being asked to pay for their shoe. I pray its not true.

Letter From Kampala: The sad state of Uganda Police living quarters

Posted on October 14, 2011 by Editorial Team

 

They are one of the best dressed police force in Africa, often seen in smartly-ironed uniforms of all sorts and colours and at times made to look like Robocop. Here in the West, the images of the Uganda Police force is that of cops with batons clubbing protesters, kicking them and firing teargas at them. But today The London Evening Post exposes the frustrations that must be in the Uganda police force given the dilapidated housing quarters they are forced to live in and then expected to go out and handle the public most of whom live in splendid houses around the capital Kampala. Our newly-appointed Kampala Correspondent Guyson Nangayi has just been to the Nsambya Police Barracks in Kampala and sent us this report.

After hustling through shortcuts in Kibuli slums, I arrived at Nsambya Police Barracks, another slum barracks which is divided from Kibuli by a swamp. Before entering the barracks, there is this swamp carrying wastes like rotten garbage and stagnant water from slums like Kabalagala, Kibuli and Nsambya connecting to Nakivubo channel. As you enter, there are clusters of old stylish Nsambya Barracks quarters which are just similar to those of Nsambya Railways Estates which are now rented by low income earners. All the buildings are in a very poor state, while the place lacks enough grass; it is fairly tidy; there is little dust. The bathrooms and latrines are also inside their quarters.

At the entrance of one of the demolished gates, a policeman sits at his door entrance on a plastic tidy chair reading a newspaper. He does not want his name mentioned in this article but is willing to talk about the sad state of police accommodation in Uganda. When asked about how he feels being one of the officers staying in the barracks, he replies: “I am are very much concerned about the living of police officers in all barracks in Uganda. I think Uganda barracks are the worst places to live in. I urge the government to find the possible ways of constructing police estates across the country.” 

He added that the Uganda Police Force (UPF) is currently faced with both office and staff accommodation challenges, which impact on the provision of police services and crime management by the UPF. They also lack suitable and sustainable living accommodation in the form of family, barracks and training facilities for its staff to be able to perform its mandated functions. All operational premises and living accommodation for the UPF buildings require facilities management intervention. The area of highest concern is the living accommodation currently provided for police officers and their families. Not even animals are fit to live there. The poor state of Nsambya police barracks forced the Inspector General of Police to announce in 2009 that the force was looking for an investor to take over Nsambya Police Barracks and Kibuli Police Training School, build housing units on it and hand them over to the police after a stipulated period.

A section of Nsambya Police Barracks where even animals would find it difficult to live.

In May this year, another Nakawa-Naguru police estate was demolished by government to pave way for redevelopment, just because of the poor conditions they were in and due to the fact that some these police estates were constructed in 1955. About 100 families were affected and also an estimated 1,760 families were left homeless. A private developer was given a contract to develop the estates into a satellite city but up to now nothing has been done yet.

The UPF is faced with several other human resource and logistical bottlenecks. Many are largely exclusive to the force, but others are also shared with the community. One such problem is HIV/AIDS, which has affected every section of the population. It is believed that the Uganda Police is one of the organizations in the country with the highest rates of HIV/Aids and despite a few efforts to curb the spread of the disease, the results are not positive. The Uganda Police has 14,000 officers and it is believed that at least 13 percent of police officers in Kampala are HIV positive, according to Superintendent of Police Bazirakye Kaguta. It is also rumoured that Police officers demand sex from female detainees and prostitutes causing rampant spread of HIV/AIDS among police officers. Job transfers splitting police officers from their spouses and poor living conditions mean several adults live in extremely close quarters which are believed to be another reason for causing the spread of HIV/AIDS amongst officers.  

In order to overcome the aforementioned challenges, the UPF is planning, through a Public Private Partnership (PPP), to elevate the accommodation facilities, administration and the training of police officers to acceptable standards.The PPP process is seen as a powerful tool, as it introduces private sector capital and private sector practices and efficiencies, while promoting competitive markets and facilitating innovation. At the same time it will offer the UPF a solution which offers “Value for Money” and is “Affordable”. PPF was chosen as the most suitable method of procuring the required infrastructure. With the support of the Privatisation Unit of the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development, a Transaction Advisor (TA) consisting of Turner & Townsend (Pty) Ltd, G5 Specialized Finance (Pty) Limited, Deneys Reitz Incorporated, Infrastructure Design Forum and Shonubi Musoke & Co. Advocates were procured to assist with the structuring of the project.

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