The Minister for Internal Affairs Gen. Jeje Odongo has applauded the Uganda Police Force for their improved performance in terms of service delivery.
Addressing journalists on Monday during a visit by Ministry of Internal Affairs to the police force, Gen. Odong said he realized that police has been improving day by day in the past few years.
“A recent study showed that police scored 100% in terms of visibility among the government institutions whereas 49% of the population is confident of police work,” Gen. Odongo said.
“There has been quantitative and qualitative improvement in the last 10 years which had not happened in the past 100 years of the police force.”
The Internal Affairs Minister said despite the improvement, there are still some challenges faced by the police force, citing lack of enough man power and financial constraints among them.
The minister noted that the ratio of the police to the population is 1:900 which he says is too low compared to international standards of 1 policeman to 500 people.
“The police need about 30,000 more personnel, equipment and other resources in order to be able to do their job properly.”
“They face a big challenge of the legal framework in which they do their work especially during public order management and we think this can also be solved. Nevertheless, not long in the future, the police will surprise the public with what they do,”Gen.Odongo noted.
He later together with the State Minister, IGP Gen Kale Kayihura and other police directors tour the various police projects including the housing units at Naguru, the state of the art police station in Nateete, garments factory along Jinja road and the new cancer hospital in Kololo.