New South Sudan interior minister vows to launch police reform
Article
Comments (10)
email Email
print Print
pdfSave
separation
increase
decrease
separation
separation
September 6, 2011 (JUBA) - South Sudan’s new minister of interior
Alison Magaya Manoni intends to reform the country’s police force, by
screening its organisational structure and fighting corruption he said
Tuesday.
JPEG - 49.9 kb
New South Sudan Minister of Interior Alison Magaya addressing police
rally in Juba. Sept. 6, 2011. (ST)
Such reforms, if properly implemented, could create a useful
additional network for gathering information designed to aid the
authorities in combating crime, Manoni said at a town-hall gathering
in Juba where he and his deputy Salva Mathok Gengdit met hundreds of
police, wildlife, fire brigade and prison officers to hear their
suggestions on how best the police services can be reformed.
“As a mandate from President Salva Kiir Mayardit I want [to] reform
police services and organised forces" he said.
Manoni said the “reform needs collaborative efforts from police and
civilians; we are facing illegal guns being possessed by civilians to
kill each other over issues that can be solved in a competent court
[of] law.”
A recent UN report found that 1,500 people have been killed and 73,000
displaced in South Sudan’s conflicts other recent months.
The policemen and policewomen said the main challenges they face are
low salaries and lack of capacity building; communication equipment;
transportation and uniforms.
A private in South Sudan’s police service is said to be paid 380 South
Sudanese pounds ($142) per month.
The new minister, who was a general in South Sudan’s first civil war
(1955-1972) with North Sudan, said that he will set achievable targets
for police reform, such as empowering local police officers. The
Anya-anya 1 veteran outlined his vision to slim down the central
command structure and increase the number of junior officers on the
ground.
“We are going to start with simple steps, but we shall soon expand the
process into a bigger picture", he said.
Observers say Magaya is particularly keen to promote safety at the
local level, thereby building trust. He hopes to adopt a new model,
using patrols and inspections to ensure security within the capital
Juba, border points and in the states among local communities and
paying special attention to insecurity.
Beyond budget issues, these reforms have practical targets, including
protecting administrative buildings as well as encouraging each senior
officers to know his precinct well. He called on officers to be
familiar with families in the area and to know numbers and names of
local and foreign criminals in the area they patrol.
Intent on carrying out a purge of the forces’ bureaucracy, Magaya has
asked the heads of police bodies to submit proposals on how to make
the service more efficient. He said that he also intends to flush out
corrupt officers that extort money at border and checkpoints.
Oversight of the traffic officers accused of extortion will be placed
in the hands of the interior ministry’s security service, which has in
the past been too lax in supervising police work at checkpoints.
Many of South Sudan’s police are former SPLA soldiers who fought in
South Sudan’s two-decade long civil war with Khartoum. On July 9, when
South Sudan officially seceded as part of a 2005 peace deal, the SPLA
became the nascent country’s official army.
In an attempt to demilitarise South Sudan many SPLA soldiers have been
integrated into the police but this has brought its own problems.
Despite being the army of the South since 2005 the former rebels are
far from being a professional army. The police service face enormous
challenges in accommodating the SPLA members as many retain an army
mentality and are less informed about the role of a civilian police
service.
These efforts may not attract much publicity, since the dividends are
less obvious. However, such Interior Ministry plans, combined with an
apparent political desire to eradicate the culture of corruption,
suggest that the Magaya’s tenure recognises that police officers will
often find themselves in the “front line” in dealing with criminals
and unlawful citizens.
Public opinion among the police indicates that they want to see
practical steps against tackling criminals, illegal migration, and
drug trafficking. This can be done, they say, by exchanges of
operational information, improving investigative methodologies, and
other technical support.
Minister Magaya thanked the police service for making “tremendous
progress” in securing South Sudan in the six years of the peace deal,
the conduct of January’s independence referendum and attainment of
independence. He added that their demonstrated ability to gradually
take the lead on security operations has been “truly impressive.”
He also paid tribute to the security forces who have sacrificed their
lives in action against gangs since South Sudan gained autonomy in
2005 and commented that this is “something we feel sad and honour.”
Magaya said he is committed to continuously strive to serve the
people, improve the image of the South Sudan Police Services and make
them the trusted guardians of the people.
Minister Magaya stated that “now with the tide of our difficulties
undeniably turning, we need to maintain the effort and reap the
rewards of peace and stability that so much sacrifice has brought so
close to our grasp.”
Over two million died and four million people were displaced in
Sudan’s North-South civil war.
He reiterated that South Sudanese will spare no efforts or sacrifices
to realise the vision articulated by President Salva Kiir in his
inaugural speech that the police begin to take the lead in all
security operations within the years to come.
(ST)
--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "JFD
info" group.
To post to this group, send email to [email protected].
To unsubscribe from this group, send email to
[email protected].
For more options, visit this group at
http://groups.google.com/group/jfdinfo?hl=en.
