How rot in police force drives away businesses

Traffic police officers from Matuu Police Station in Machakos were arrested for an allegation of taking bribes from motorists along Thika-Garissa highway on Saturday by Ethics and Anti-Corruption officers. [File, Standard] The deep rot within the National Police Service (NPS) is among the factors that have made doing business in Kenya difficult, driving away investors to other destinations. This is according to a new report by a task force chaired by retired Chief Justice David Maraga on the force, which has fingered the traffic police as a major impediment to sectors such as transport. The report has made radical recommendations, including the disbanding of the traffic police unit, removal of all static roadblocks and heavy use of technology in manning roads, such as electronic issuance of tickets for traffic offences. The report also notes that police officers take bribes and allow free passage of counterfeit goods that endanger the lives of Kenyans, causing manufacturers to suffer both losses of business and credibility. "The culture of impunity in the services and their glaring failure to effectively enforce the rule of law are slowly driving the country into a state of lawlessness and anarchy," notes the report. "We are already losing investments to neighbouring countries partly because of this sad state of affairs which should not be allowed to continue. As part of the definitive break from the past, there must be a paradigm shift." The task force notes that while the majority of the police officers "are doing a remarkable... job" and "often at great personal risk and sacrifice," they are let down by the few rogue elements found at different levels within the police force. Some of the sectors that are affected in a major way include transport, which is key to all sectors. Corruption within the traffic police has been cited among the barriers that have made the Mombasa-Malaba transit corridor lose its allure among businesses importing and exporting goods to and from neighbouring countries. Many of these firms are increasingly using alternatives such as Tanzania's central transport corridor. The Maraga report points to the rampant corruption among traffic officers, who blatantly ask for bribes and look the other way as offenders have a field day while endangering lives and crippling economic development. Roadblocks erected by traffic officers have been cited among the barriers to transit and cross-border trade. "The transport sector is critical to the sustainable growth of any economy. It enables the mobility of essential goods, human capital, and other materials that enable economic and business activity," says the report. "The current breakdown and crisis in road traffic management as a result of ineptitude and corruption not only continues to endanger lives but also affects the economy and development of the country." The Maraga task force recommends the disbanding of the traffic police unit. It notes that in forming a new unit, none of the officers serving in the current traffic unit should be redeployed in the new unit. "The DIG (Deputy Inspector General) Kenya Police Service should disband the current Traffic Unit, and reconstitute a Traffic Control Unit that will operate based on integrated and automated intelligent traffic control system," says the report. "All officers under the current Traffic Police Unit, and those who have previously served under the Unit should not be redeployed to the new Traffic Control Unit or any other traffic management duties or functions." It added that the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA), together with NPS, should embrace an automated and integrated system of traffic management and operations. "The system will entail components such as CCTV cameras, speed cameras, traffic lights, facial and number plate recognition, and associated smart technology on all public roads to monitor vehicle movements," says the report, adding that other components of the system should include e-tickets and automated payment of fines for traffic offences, as well as a system for tracking offences by drivers as done in some other jurisdictions. It further recommends that the NPS leadership remove all static roadblocks in the country and substitute them with mobile police patrol. The task force was formed to look into constraints experienced by officers in the police service, the Kenya Prison Service and the National Youth Service in delivering their duties and recommend areas of reform.

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