Accommodation situation in police is embarrassing- Otafiire

Otafiire, who is also the chairperson of the Police Authority, made these remarks during the 26^th Police council meeting at the police headquarters in Naguru yesterday.

Minister Kahinda Otafiire Pulse

According to Otafiire, he sometimes avoids going to the barracks because he does not know what to say.

“The state of accommodation in the police force is a disgrace to say the least. In fact, I am surprised we still have police officers. People are living in places I don’t want to mention. Sometimes I avoid going to the barracks because what will I say,” Otafiire said.

Following this scathing remark, Otafiire commissioned 420 apartments for the police, which he said is a drop in the ocean.

According to the Daily Monitor, it has taken police more than 10 years to complete phase one of the project due to shortage of funds.

Otafiire further added that the government does not have enough funds to deal with the accommodation challenges, but insists that housing shortage can be solved if private investors are invited to help out.

“We told you to get someone. There are people who have money. We have agreed with Ministry of Finance that there are people who have their own money. They should come and build police barracks and we shall pay them gradually,” he noted.

According to a local newspaper, the police, which has 54,000 personnel, have a housing accommodation gap of 33,000 units. Last financial year, they erected 10,000 uniports to fill the gap.

Even among the existing units, 9,200 need critical repairs.