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Sunday, June 1, 2014

State to employ 10,000 more police officers in war on terror

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

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.
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.
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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