The Sh500 million project will be carried out in two phase, which will see the station have a shopping area, modern police cells, a dispensary and conference centres/KEVIN GITAU
NAIROBI, Kenya, Jun 30 – A multi-million shilling face-lift is set to kick off at the Kilimani Police Station, after Inspector General of Police Joseph Boinnet signed a Memorandum of Understanding approving the major project, which will see the station turned into a referral centre.
Chinese Ambassador Liu Xianfa, KEPSA Foundation Chairperson Lee Karuri and Kilimani Police Station Development chairman lawyer Karanja Kabage and the IG signed the agreement.
The Sh500 million project will be carried out in two phase, which will see the station have a shopping area, modern police cells, a dispensary and conference centre.
“This project is part of the ongoing police reforms which is contrary to sentiments from certain quarters that police reforms have stalled,” Boinnet stated.
The project will also include more housing units for over 250 officers serving in the division, offices and a parking lot with the first phase expected to consume Sh300 million.
“This is the kind of partnership that we would like to see among the National Police Service and the public,” the IG stated.
Kabage said the business community must play a proactive role in building and deepening institutional partnerships to better the country.
The government has been on the spot over the poor condition of many police stations, but the IG said the trend is set to be reversed.
The government is set to invest heavily in the security sector, with special focus on improving welfare, mobilisation and modernisation of the security forces in the country, according to 2016-2017 budget estimates recently released by the Treasury Cabinet Secretary Henry Rotich.
To modernise the security sector in the country even further, he allocated Sh124 billion to defence and the National Intelligence Service and Sh140 billion to the Interior Ministry.
The government has already signed a bilateral agreement with Shelter Afrique to construct 20,000 police housing units in the first phase within the next two years.
“We are prioritising the provision of decent houses for our discipline forces,” he said adding that already the government was negotiating a finance programme with the African Development Bank.
Construction of the houses is set to kick off in November this year.
“Once phase one is under way, we expect to concurrently launch additional phases with a view to conclusively addressing the housing gap of police and other discipline forces which is estimated at over 100,000 units currently,” he said.
Part of the police reforms include the vetting process, whose overall objective is to build confidence and trust in the National Police Service.
The applicable vetting standards include officers’ satisfaction of entry and training requirements, their professional conduct and discipline, integrity, financial probity, and respect for human rights.
Officers who satisfy the commission with regard to competence and suitability will be retained and those who do not will be removed from the service.
The process is being conducted pursuant to Article 246 of the Constitution and the National Police Service Act (2011) Section 7(2) and (3) which stipulates that members of the National Police Service shall undergo vetting to assess their suitability and competence.
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