Africa-Press – Uganda. The Uganda Police Force (UPF) have unveiled a plan to construct office space that will house 17 police directorates and one command centre in Naguru, Kampala.
Mr Martins Okoth-Ochola, the Inspector General of Police, said the move to bring all police units under one structure is intended to improve the manpower and efficiency of the police force.
“The UPF has been grappling with and continues to face the challenge of accommodation; both office and residential. Since its inception in 1906, the force has not had any permanent home called police headquarters,” IGP Ochola revealed yesterday during the project’s commissioning in Kampala.
He added: “It is for this very reason that I am extremely joyous to see that we are constructing our permanent home. Because of the housing challenges in 2011, the police management decided to vacate the rental premises and transferred our police headquarters to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) headquarters that we are occupying today.”
Housing challenges
Police have for years been grappling with housing challenges, some of which were constructed during colonial times. Last year, they required about Shs879b, which is the annual budget of the entire police, to meet their current housing needs.
Mr Ochola revealed that due to the inadequate space at the police headquarters, several directorates and units continue to operate outside the police headquarters, which make it hard to work effectively.
“In 2011, the police surrendered 4.71 hectares of land for the Justice Law and Order Sector housing project, which among others, included the construction of police headquarters. The new building is expected to have a floor area of 14,934 square metres, which will be on 12 floors, a standalone conference centre capable of hosting up to 500 people and sufficient parking,” he said.
Capacity
He added that the new facility will be six times bigger than the current police headquarters and it will enable police to bring all directorates under one roof.
Mr Robert Kasande, the permanent secretary in the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs and the accounting officer of the project, said the development will enable them to save money they have been spending on rent.
“Institutions under this ministry have been spending over Shs30 billion on rent every year and in seven years, it amounts to about Shs210 billion, yet construction of the police headquarters will cost us Shs77 billion. This means we will be saving,” Mr Kasande said.
He added that after this phase, they will construct a court building and a parking lot that will be able to accommodate 1,000 vehicles.
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