PLANS are afoot for the police force to build houses for accommodating 154 police officers in Masasi District, Mtwara Region, who are living outside police barracks, parliament was told here.
Deputy Minister for Home Affairs, Hamad Yusuph Masauni, said on Wednesday that Masasi District had only 15 houses accommodating 30 households of police officers and that 154 others were renting houses outside the barracks.
He said the government would continue constructing other houses depending on budgetary allocations.
Mr Masauni was responding to a question posed by Masasi Lawmaker, Rashid Chuachua (CCM), who sought a response from the minister on when the government would build houses for police officers as well as buying motor vehicles to help them in their patrols and ferrying suspects.
Responding, Mr Masauni said the government had already provided one vehicle to add up to two others. This means, the district has three vans in total, according to him.
He said more vehicles would be taken to Masasi depending on the ministry’s budget.
The Masasi MP further said that police officers were forced to dig deep into their pockets to feed suspects who are in remand, asking the minister to explain why the government failed to feed them.
However, Mr Masauni said police officers were not allowed to feed suspects, adding that it was the obligation of the government to feed them.
He also explained that relatives of suspects were allowed to take food to their loved ones in detention.
