President Edgar Lungu has insisted that law enforcement agencies must prosecute those who waste government resources by publishing false and alarming reports.

And Lungu has boasted that countries in the Southern region have shown interest in training their police officers in Zambia.

Meanwhile, Inspector general of Police Kakoma Kanganja has warned recruits in the police service against involving themselves in partisan politics and criminal activities.

In a speech read on his behalf by Home Affairs Minister Stephen Kampyongo during the Zambia Police pass out parade for the 2018/2019 recruits, Tuesday, President Lungu said police officers should prosecute those publishing false and alarming reports.

“People with ill motives claim expertise even in matters they hardly understand. Social media in particular is being used to deceive, incite and undermine peace and security in every country including our own country, mother Zambia. To give but one example, elements bent on promoting discord in our country have lately been claiming that the 2018 Financial Intelligence Report identified with certain persons involved in the illicit financial transactions and corruption in Zambia. Intelligence reports, for you new officers however, merely identify suspicious transactions which have to be investigated further to establish the full trail and whether indeed the suspicious transactions are criminal in nature. Further, investigations therefore have to be carried out by the law enforcement agencies to confirm and bring law breakers to book,” President Lungu said.

“It is also sad that the majority of those that are quoting the FIC report have not even read it. As law enforcement agencies, you will be receiving false and true accusations and to avoid abusing your power, you will have to carefully assess and verify the information availed. Don’t allow people with ill intentions make you abuse your authority. However, with discipline and dedication to duty, you should be able to read through false accusations and avoid wasting public resources with unnecessary investigations to curb false and malicious accusations. It is time for law enforcement agencies to prosecute those who make false and alarming reports about innocent people.”

And President Lungu said countries in the southern region had shown interest in training their police officers in Zambia

“My government will continue to invest in the security of our country because sustainable development is anchored on sustainable security. Our law enforcement officers are second to none and as a result, we have been receiving requests from other countries to bench mark their law enforcement institutions to the Zambia police service. Some countries have even expressed a desire to have their law enforcement officers trained in Zambia by the Zambia police service. However, the service has been constrained from taking up some of these offers owing to infrastructure deficit in all its training colleges,” said President Lungu.

Meanwhile, Kanganja warned police officers against engaging themselves in criminal activities.

“After 12 months of rigorous training, the program has come to an end and our staffing levels have increased to 969. As police command we believe and have no doubt that the increase in man power will help to effectively combat crime in the nation which is key to creating a safer and conducive environment for sustainable social and economic development. The rigorous training these officers have undergone, covered a wide spectrum of courses as alluded to by the college commandant which are aimed at keeping them appraised with current emerging crime trends and this this has been made possible through the improvement of the curriculum for the Zambian training college. The courses have helped in imparting the much needed skills and knowledge so that they are prepared to deal with crime in a more effective manner,” said Kanganja.

“Bear in mind that the career you have chosen demands for high discipline levels at all times therefore, you should refrain from involving yourselves in criminal activities and partisan politics. Instead, be loyal to the government of the day and always uphold the republican constitution.”