The Parliamentary Committee on Administration and National Security has urged members of the public in West Pokot County to be willing to volunteer information to security agencies to improve government service delivery.
The committee led by Mr. Paul Koinange during an inspection exercise at the Kapenguria Police on Saturday called on members of the public to desist from the old tradition of shying away from police officers saying the department has tremendously transformed from being a police force that used to be perceived as meant to harass wananchi.
“Nowadays things have changed since it is easy to meet a police officer engaging members of the public in a polite and professional manner unlike before. Therefore, there is no need for the public to fear the police who offer essential services to them,” Koinange told the media at the police station.
He commended the good work being done by the police within the county saying the committee would propose an urgent budget to help address issues ranging from water shortage, inadequate means of transport among other welfare issues being faced at the station.
“As a committee, we have been adequately informed about the insufficient number of government vehicles to address movement within the vast county. We are going to propose a budget for vehicles to enable police officers to respond to security issues promptly,” stated the National Security committee chair.
Koinange who is the Kiambaa MP added that what the committee was looking for is to improve the working environment for the police officers in the station.
West Pokot is classified as one of the hardship zones in the country which is characterised by rough terrains that hampered movement.
Presenting a report to the committee, West Pokot Deputy County Commissioner Mr. Kennedy Lunalo said the region has been experiencing disasters such as floods, mudslides and thunder posing a challenge to the residents.
Lunalo asked the committee to consider advocating for the allocation of resources towards disaster preparedness.
He however noted that drug abuse prevalence rate had gone down to 30 percent attributing the shift to the government’s introduction of Kazi Mtaani that has seen residents in informal settlements engage in profitable work.
By Richard Muhambe
