Politics and policy
President Uhuru Kenyatta addresses the nation during Madaraka Day
celebrations at the Nyayo National Stadium in Nairobi on Sunday.
Photo/BILLY MUTAI
By VICTOR JUMA, vjuma@ke.nationmedia.com
In Summary
- The government will employ an additional 10,000 police officers after the recent recruitment of 8,000 officers into the administration and regular police services.
- The government has set aside Sh6.7 billion for the recruitment of the extra 10,000 officers, a move that will improve the police- to- citizen ratio that currently stands at an estimated 1:1150.
- The increased security manpower will be complemented by digitisation of the country’s population registry.
President Uhuru Kenyatta is betting on modern
technologies and increased hiring of security personnel to fight
insecurity, which has cast a dark cloud over the Kenyan economy.
In his speech to the nation during Madaraka Day
celebrations at Nyayo National Stadium in Nairobi on Sunday, Mr Kenyatta
said the government would employ an additional 10,000 police officers
after the recent recruitment of 8,000 officers into the administration
and regular police services.
The government has set aside Sh6.7 billion for the
recruitment of the extra 10,000 officers, a move that will improve the
police- to- citizen ratio that currently stands at an estimated 1:1150.
The increased security manpower will be complemented by digitisation of the country’s population registry and the Sh14.9 billion security communications system being built by Safaricom.
The increased security manpower will be complemented by digitisation of the country’s population registry and the Sh14.9 billion security communications system being built by Safaricom.
Kenyans are set to be registered afresh, a move
that will see their details stored in a digital database at an estimated
cost of Sh8 billion.
The upcoming registration exercise is expected to
enhance the integrity of Kenyans’ records, which will be easily accessed
by security agencies and other State organs.
The new security system will enable police to pick
out terror suspects from a crowded street and track their movements
remotely.
The system will also link all security agencies,
making it easier to share information and direct operations. It will
include spy cameras linked to computers that will analyse faces and
other data to help identify and track suspects.
Mr Kenyatta said CCTV cameras were being installed
in major towns and that border points have been provided with broadband
technology as part of the hi-tech communications infrastructure.
The President also announced the creation of a
medical insurance scheme for the police, which will be funded with a
seed of Sh1.6 billion in the next fiscal year.
He said improvement of security was key in anchoring Kenya’s economic growth which stood at 4.7 per cent in 2013, but is facing more risks this year.
He said improvement of security was key in anchoring Kenya’s economic growth which stood at 4.7 per cent in 2013, but is facing more risks this year.
Kenya has this year suffered from increased terrorist attacks, kidnappings and violent robberies.
Somalia-based terrorist group Al-Shabaab has
carried out several attacks in major cities, including Nairobi and
Mombasa, destroying property and killing tens of people.
Besides endangering public safety, the attacks
are hurting the economy, with the tourism sector being the highest
profile victim. Key tourism source markets in Europe, including the UK,
recently issued fresh travel advisories warning citizens against
non-essential travel to Kenya.
Hundreds of Britons were last month evacuated from
holiday resorts at the Kenyan coast, leaving investors in the
hospitality industry counting losses.
This has worsened the outlook for the sector that
saw international visitor arrivals drop to 1.5 million last year from
1.7 million in 2012, with earnings dropping to Sh94 billion from Sh96
billion in the review period.
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