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Women police officers are the mirror of the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) and as such they should exhibit exceptional etiquette skills in order to promote organisation’s image.
The sentiments were made by Commissioner Training and Human Resources Development, Commissioner Grace Nomsa Ndebele at the official opening of the Women Network workshop held at ZRP Sports Club recently.
Commissioner Ndebele, who is also the Deputy Chairperson of the ZRP Women Network, outlined the need for etiquette, protocol, grooming and deportment as the main ingredients for building a wholesome woman police officer.
“Today’s workshop marks the beginning of a convergence of women police officers, with the chief aim of promoting etiquette skills in the organisation. I cannot over estimate the importance of this initiative, which the Zimbabwe Republic Police has embraced and will be fully supported.
“ZRP is a visible entity and women police officers play a pivotal role in terms of promoting its image which calls for good principles of etiquette.”Good manners, she said, are the bedrock of civilisation which every officer is mandated to express in the discharge of police duties.
“Good manners are an essential characteristic of religion, as well as a fundamental part of civilisation and we are all duty bound to treat those whom we come into contact with respect, “she said.
She urged the participants to shun bad manners and morals as an unacceptable behaviour can be blown out of proportion in this age of social media.
Commissioner Ndebele also added that such platforms will help female officers to efficiently manage police events.
The three-day workshop was attended by more than 34 senior women police officers drawn from all police provinces and was a fulfilment of the ZRP Woman Network’s first key result area which is Training and Development.
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...heroic act by a senior police officer saves the day for marooned congregants
Superintendent Mushawembirimi stresses a point during the interview
This for some would read like a script from some Hollywood movie or a fiction novel, but for members of the Johanne Masowe eChishanu Church from Mbizo Suburb in Kwekwe, it’s a tale their grandchildren will have to believe when they narrate it in years to come.
It is a tale of a commuter omnibus which was swept away by heavy floods for about 30 metres before being stopped by trees on the river bank. The omnibus was submerged in water whilst carrying 22 passengers who later sought refuge on top of the vehicle.
What is more heartrending is the fact that rescue had to come about six hours later. One would imagine how the members who included children, women and men held on while on top of the commuter omnibus which was suspended in water given the river currency and the increasing water volumes, which, while on the roof of the vehicle, reached knee level.
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Chief Dumisani Ndondo of Mbembesi in Matabeleland North Province has thrown his weight behind the Village Anti-Stock Theft Committee (VASTC) initiative saying it should be taken seriously by all traditional leaders across the country.
Speaking during an anti-stock theft campaign meeting recently held by the National Anti-Stock Theft Unit (NASTU) Coordinator, Senior Assistant Commissioner Erasmus Makodza at ZRP Mbembesi Police Station, Chief Ndondo said if implemented well, VASTC program will not only help local communities but the nation at large.
“I am impressed by the introduction of Village Anti-Stock Theft Committee initiative; it will help us a lot and must be therefore taken seriously by all traditional leaders across the country. If you are appointed a member of the committee, you not only working for the local community but for the nation at large,” said Chief Ndondo.
He urged farmers to brand their livestock and also bemoaned the mushrooming illegal food outlets in the nearby city of Bulawayo, saying they were blamed for providing ready market for stolen livestock.
“We are near the City of Bulawayo and I have noticed that there has been an increase in number of illegal food outlets whom I believe are buying stolen livestock considering that they offer cheap meals. Where do they get cheap meat? I do not think it is from butcheries,” he said.
The NASTU Coordinator, SAC Makodza who also addressed villagers at Tame Secondary School in Kenilworth area in Inyathi said introduction of VASTC will solve a myriad of challenges that were being encountered in the fight against stock theft.
“VASTC is a new concept and we introduced it to address problems we were facing in the fight against stock theft because it will be the involvement of livestock owners in the fight to protect their own wealth. Each and every village shall have its own committee which will be working closely with the Anti-Stock Theft Unit,” said SAC Makodza.
“The committee members will be appointed by the village head in consultation with his subjects. This means no person shall buy cattle without clearance from the committee. They have also powers to carry out patrols in their areas with the help of police officers, to assist the police on road blocks and to make follow ups on all cases of interest be it at police stations or even at courts,” added SAC Makodza.
He also said VASTCs are paying dividends in Mashonaland Central Province where they were implemented recently as the province is witnessing a downward trend in stock theft cases. He urged villagers and traditional leaders to desist from inviting self-styled prophets popularly known as tsikamutandas.
“Tsikamutandas are criminals who are bent on taking away your cattle for their own benefit after giving you fake prophecies. Traditional leaders, please help us; tsikamutandas are not good for our people, do not allow them into your areas,” appealed SAC Makodza.
Farmers were also urged to speed up branding of their cattle to meet the December 2017 deadline which requires all cattle to be branded. They were also told to make use of the universal brand iron.
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The Zimbabwe Republic Police has embarked on an Electronic Traffic Management System (ETMS) and Electronic Firearms Management System (EFMS) project.
The ETMS and EFMS project which is a Private-Public Partnership (PPP) with Univern Enterprises Limited is underway and ETMS is set to curtail traffic violations, vehicle thefts, infuse sanity on the roads and curb corrupt activities on our roads whilst the EFMS makes it easy to track all firearms and their registration systems.
Speaking at the visit to the ETMS projects by the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Transport and Infrastructural Development at Chikurubi Data Centre, the Commissioner General of Police, Cde, Dr Augustine Chihuri said the organisation is making strides to embrace Information Technology (IT) in tandem with rapid changes on the contemporary policing terrain.
“Driven by the profound desire to offer world class services as well as ensuring transparency and accountability in all our engagements as spelt out in our Client Service Charter, the ZRP continues to harness modern technologies.
“The major aim with the ETMS is to improve service delivery through the provision of transparent and accountable traffic enforcement. The project will culminate in reduction of corruption and leakages of revenue on the roads as the new system will usher in real-time monitoring of all our traffic deployments,” said the Police Chief.
In his remarks, the Chairperson of the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Transport and Infrastructural Development and the Member of Parliament for Chegutu West, Honourable Dexter Nduna said he was elated by the way ZRP has embraced IT in its day to day business.
“We celebrate with ZRP as it will be removing fraud and corruption and this transport management system which will link with other departments will ensure efficiency and our work as a committee will be done in a harmonious manner.”
In an interview with The Outpost, the Acting Director Information Communication Technology (ICT), Assistant Commissioner Bevan Muchena Marangwanda said the project which is the brain child of the Commissioner General of Police, Cde, Dr Augustine Chihuri is important in the running affairs of the ZRP.
“The ETMS and EFMS are integrated computerised traffic and firearms management systems. The project involves the design and implementation of an automated electronic traffic enforcement management system, data warehousing, electronic documentation with real-time linkages to Vehicle Theft Squad (VTS), Central Vehicle Registration (CVR), Vehicle Inspection Department (VID), Zimbabwe National Roads Administration (ZINARA) and other key road and vehicle management entities.
“As a support service in the ZRP, we are embracing technology as a department and this project was long overdue as it will raise the profile of the organisation,” said Assistant Commissioner Marangwanda.
The ETMS pilot project has been set at Avondale Police Station and 54 traffic stations are set to be connected. The EFMS will be made up of a centralised firearms registry in Harare with 10 provincial online registries.
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Sixty-nine year old Daniel Mazwi Sibanda’s house stands out of the rest in a maze of old tiny houses of Sizinda Suburb in Bulawayo.
What makes Sibanda’s house different from the rest in his neighbourhood is a big eye-catching canvas billboard marketing an event management company which ‘operates from his house.’
“Come, let us make your wedding a memorable one!” screams the billboard.
However behind the billboard, the story is different all together. Far from draping and party decor, the businesses flourishing at the house are actually illegal.
This came out thanks to an alert police detail, Constable Tinevimbo Shoko of ZRP Donnington who was serving subpoenas to a witness at Sibanda’s neighbour. Attracted by the attractive billboard, Cst Shoko was tempted scan into Sibanda’s yard only to be greeted by a flourishing garden of marijuana plants nearly 1.7 metres high.
The experienced Constable Shoko managed to beat Mr Sibanda at his game as the plants were smartly trimmed depressing them from protruding above the hedge making them close to impossible to detect.
“We had visited Mr Sibanda’s next door neighbour to serve a witness for court. I got attracted by a big and attractive billboard at Mr Sibanda’s house and as I read it, I scanned into the yard only to be greeted by a garden of marijuana plants,” said Cst Shoko.
Despite the glaring evidence, Cst Shoko decided not to act but went back to station for backup. A team comprising himself, Constables Tafadzwa Ruvinga and Agent Chifamba was assembled to execute a raid.
The team was led to Mr Sibanda’s house where they busted him while relaxing at home with his wife and grandchildren. It was a bad day for the elderly man who received a message of his mother-in-law’s death immediately after he got arrested.
The discovery of marijuana plants opened yet another can of worms after cops found that the elderly man was also processing dagga for sale and illegally dealing with copper.
“When we arrested him, he initially denied growing marijuana but on further interviews he then led us to his plants. We also conducted searches in his house where we found some pockets prepared dagga and loads of copper wires,” said Cst Ruvinga.
Member-In-Charge Police Intelligence, Minerals and Border Control Unit in Bulawayo, Assistant Inspector Jabulani Ncube said Mr Sibanda did not have a licence to deal in copper and the chances were high that the copper could have been stolen or acquired illegally.
“Dealing with copper without a licence is an offence according to Copper Control Act, so we will charge him for that, but that will be after consultations with key stakeholders who deal in copper that is Tel One, Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (ZESA) and National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ),” said Asst Insp Ncube.
