Sankwasa urges Sangwali community to refrain from poaching

SANGWALI/KONGOLA, 14 OCT – The Deputy Minister of Works and Transport, James Sankwasa appealed to the community of Sangwali in the Judea Lyabboloma Constituency of the Zambezi Region to stop the practice of poaching.
Sankwasa noted that the fact that Sangwali is surrounded by two National Parks – Nkasa/Rupara and Mudumu has made the community of the area prone to poaching.
The deputy minister warned that the wildlife in the two parks are not for individual benefit but natural resources that must benefit the whole country.
Sankwasa was speaking at Sangwali on Friday during the inauguration of a police post constructed at a cost of close to N$26 million dollars.
Sankwasa said the construction of the police post at Sangwali and other rural areas shows the commitment of Government in bringing services closer to the people.
“This post includes accommodation facilities for police officers, a charge office, dining hall, ablution facilities and recreation facilities which will make the work of the police easier.”
He also cautioned police officers from serving the community based on favouritism and tribalism.
“There has been reports of police officers in the region who are still living in the past by practicing tribalism,” said Sankwasa, further appealing to the Inspector General of the Namibian Police, Lieutenant General Sebastian Ndeitunga to ensure measures are taken to discipline such officers.
Ndeitunga at the same occasion said the police deliberately left out the construction of police holding cells, because the community of Sangwali and the surrounding areas are law abiding citizens.
“However, if the conduct of that community changes, the authorities will construct holding cells, which the police do not want,” he emphasised.
Ndeitunga, Sankwasa and Zambezi Governor, Lawrence Sampofu appealed to the members who will be accommodated in the barracks to take good care of the facilities for generations to come.
The Inspector General said the Sangwali Police Post is the first to be inaugurated under the prevailing economic crisis and appealed to the community to cooperate with the police by reporting criminal activities in their areas.
Ndeitunga also inaugurated police barracks at Kongola Police Base the same day.
He called on the police here in particular and the country at large to serve the community with respect, respond to their calls accordingly, in accordance with the core values of their duties.
“I remind my officers that serving the community should not be seen as a favour but their responsibility and obligation.”
Ndeitunga also renamed the Kongola Police Station that was inaugurated in March 2014 to late Namibian Police Commissioner, Menias Brian Libuto, who is buried a few meters from the police station.
Libuto left Namibia at a tender age in 1978 and joined the liberation struggle. He returned to Namibia in 1989 when the rest of Namibia refugees in Angola and Zambia returned to their motherland to participate in the United Nations-conducted elections. Libuto served as a teacher in the Zambezi Region before joining the police as deputy commissioner and later, commissioner. He died in September 2017 after a short illness.
Mashi Chief, Josepha Tembwe Mayuni applauded the renaming of the Kongola Police Station after one of his loyal and committed subjects, who assisted his traditional authority in many ways.
The late Libuto’s family, represented by Gibs Mumbula, also applauded the Inspector General for renaming the police station after their son, brother, father, uncle and hero of the liberation struggle.
(NAMPA)