Police officers board a bus en route to a mission in Tana River last year. Photo/ FILE
NAIROBI, Kenya, Jun 13 – The Kenya National Police Service will be allocated Sh67 billion in the 2013-14 financial year as the Jubilee government embarks on modernising the security agency.
One thousand two hundred vehicles will be hired annually starting with the 2013/14 financial year to ensure that police conduct more patrols and access more areas.
According to the Secretary for the National Treasury Henry Rotich, the hiring of the vehicles will cost the government Sh1.3 billion each year.
“The government is committed to ensuring that its citizens live and work in a secure environment and we are therefore putting in place measures that will strengthen the police service including equipping the police units in order to increase effectiveness and rapid response to incidents of crime,” he said.
The move to hire the vehicles was reached as the government chose the cheaper option between leasing of vehicles against buying new ones.
Rotich told Parliament on Thursday afternoon that there will be an allocation of Sh4 billion for the purchase of equipment and another Sh4.5 billion for enhanced security operations
Another Sh1.5 billion will be allocated for the construction of a crime research laboratory which, Rotich said, will help law enforcers to understand crime dynamics.
Last month President Uhuru Kenyatta directed that Sh4 billion should be set aside annually starting this financial year for the purchase of equipment to boost security in the country.
President Kenyatta further ordered the formation of a special team comprising officials from the Treasury, the National Police Service and the Office of the President to identify the equipment required and to manage the procurement.
Police welfare will also be looked into in the allocations with Sh1.2 billion allocated for the construction of 200 housing units this year.
In May, Deputy President William Ruto also disclosed that the government would hire 10,000 additional police officers to bolster security in the country amidst rising cases of crimes.
Inspector General of Police David Kimaiyo had indicated earlier in April that the service needed up to about Sh150 billion to enable it operate effectively.
Kimaiyo said the money will be spent to purchase vehicles for police officers and pay their salaries for the next two years.
In the 2012/2013 budget, the then Finance Minister Njeru Githae had allocated Sh65 billion to the Internal Security Ministry in which the police was a department.
Kimaiyo now presides over an independent office, mandated by law to prepare a budget for the National Police Service and account for the use of funds.
Crime statistics released earlier this month showed that the crime level has generally gone down by 10 percent, with 30,285 incidents reported since January as compared to 33,538 incidents reported in the same period in 2012.
According to Kimaiyo the recruitment of more police officers and CCTV installation projects planned for Nairobi and other urban areas will contribute in reducing crime drastically.
He pointed out that the same period for 2011 saw 31,053 being recorded while 2012 had 33,538 were reported.
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