Africa-Press – Namibia. THE Eloolo Women and Men network patron, David Nghipunduka has called on the Namibian Police to fulfil its promise of establishing a police sub-station for better service delivery.
Nghipunduka made his request during the handing over of uniform pieces to Eloolo Women and Men network against crime at the organisation’s office on Friday.
Established in 2011, the Eloolo Women and Men Network has over 40 members that managed to combat crime ranging from preventing the trade in drugs and other illicit goods.
Nghipunduka said the establishment of the police sub-station would help to cut costs to ensure that the government does not spend too much money on fuel usage.
“If we get a sub-station, we will not need to travel to various areas to pick up members, but meet at the Network’s office because petrol is costly,” he said.
He also indicated that the members of the network require training on how better to handle crime scenes and be able to follow up on leads themselves. “Since its establishment in 2011, no training of any nature was given to the members of the network to improve their skills,” he said.
Nghipunduka also requested NamPol to visit them regularly in order to be able to motivate the network’s members, because they are volunteers, who don’t get paid and use their own resources to do the extra work.
Oshana Regional Commander Commissioner Rauha Amwele admitted that since she took command of the region in 2015, that the command structure has not met with the network’s members.
There was a meeting scheduled for 2020 but the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic and resultant restrictive health measures interfered. “Things are going to change, we will come back to visit the members and finds amicable solutions for challenges and how best we can improve,” she said.
She also took note of the members’ need for a sub-station and she assured them that plans are still in progress to acquire such infrastructure. “The economy has really been badly affected, but while we wait for funds from the government to commerce with the sub-station project we can continue our work,” she added.
With regards to training, Amwele stated that the necessary trainers will be made available in due course to give basic training on how to handle crime scenes and how members of the network should approach criminals.
She said this training will be carried out with all network members in the Oshana Region. Amwele noted that Nghipunduka continues to play a huge role in the Men and Women network members by rendering much-needed assistance, which she described as commendable.
Nghipunduka handed over 19 full uniform sets valued at N$6 440 to the network. He also donated 20 000 KN95 face masks valued at N$260 000, as well as other kinds of protective equipment valued at N$84 000.
