Police choppers on standby for rainy season
According to the police chief Inspector-General Sebastian Ndeitunga, police helicopters will be used to transport officers into the far-off communities to fight crime when the access roads are affected either by floods or bad terrain.
During the rainy season, especially in the northern parts of the country, people, most often pensioners who live alone in far-off villages are often targeted by criminals who rob them and due to the lack of access roads, criminals are not brought to book.
With the rainy season still in its early stages, some roads have already been affected making not only access to police services difficult but other services, including health, as well.
Ndeitunga in an interview with the Namibian Sun yesterday said helicopters will be deployed.
“We have helicopters and if there is a crime committed on the other side where we do not have access we can fly,” Ndeitunga said.
“There is no way criminals will take advantage of us,” Ndeitunga added.
Currently the aircraft to assist the communities in the northern regions are stationed at the N$14.8-million hangar in Oshakati which was inaugurated in 2015.
Apart from the challenge of access to certain areas caused by flooding, some regions such as the Oshikoto Region with bad roads, also have limited access, even when it is dry.
The helicopters are also assisting in the fight against poaching as they can easily and quickly reach the Etosha National Park in Oshikoto Region as well as the Bwabwata National Park in the Zambezi Region from Oshakati.
At the inauguration of the police hangar, Ndeitunga was quoted as saying that crime will be brought to an “acceptable level” with the establishment of the facility which was revamped.
KENYA KAMBOWE
During the rainy season, especially in the northern parts of the country, people, most often pensioners who live alone in far-off villages are often targeted by criminals who rob them and due to the lack of access roads, criminals are not brought to book.
With the rainy season still in its early stages, some roads have already been affected making not only access to police services difficult but other services, including health, as well.
Ndeitunga in an interview with the Namibian Sun yesterday said helicopters will be deployed.
“We have helicopters and if there is a crime committed on the other side where we do not have access we can fly,” Ndeitunga said.
“There is no way criminals will take advantage of us,” Ndeitunga added.
Currently the aircraft to assist the communities in the northern regions are stationed at the N$14.8-million hangar in Oshakati which was inaugurated in 2015.
Apart from the challenge of access to certain areas caused by flooding, some regions such as the Oshikoto Region with bad roads, also have limited access, even when it is dry.
The helicopters are also assisting in the fight against poaching as they can easily and quickly reach the Etosha National Park in Oshikoto Region as well as the Bwabwata National Park in the Zambezi Region from Oshakati.
At the inauguration of the police hangar, Ndeitunga was quoted as saying that crime will be brought to an “acceptable level” with the establishment of the facility which was revamped.
KENYA KAMBOWE
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Namibian Sun
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