A Senate committee wants the National Police Service Commission (NPSC) to have its own budget independent of the Interior ministry.
The proposal to grant the police financial autonomy must be passed by both Houses of Parliament.
The Senate wants the money to be appropriated directly by the officers and not to go through the Interior ministry.
And this might be as early as the next financial year, as proposed by the Senate National Security Committee, taking into account the challenges facing the service.
After deliberations on the Budget Policy Statement yesterday, committee chairman Yusuf Haji (Garissa) told journalists that they resolved to push for removal of police money from Harambee House.
In light of the damming report released by the Independent Police Oversight Authority (IPOA), which laid bare the sorry state of affairs within the service and what the officers have to contend with in the course of discharging their duties, the Haji-led committee want funds disbursed directly to NPSC to address logistical challenges.
“We will, in the course of this week, propose to the National Assembly budget committee to consider giving all police allocations directly to the officers as opposed to the Interior ministry,” Mr Haji said.
LOGISTICAL ISSUES
“We want the commission to handle all their budgetary allocations directly. By dealing directly with the police officers, it will make the police more responsible in their functions as they will not have to wait for directives from Harambee House on simple logistical issues as fueling vehicles.”
He said money meant for the police should go directly to them and not to the Interior ministry.
“Police will be more accountable if they handle their money directly from the Treasury,” Haji added.
Usually, votes for various departments like the police are channeled through the line ministry, which in turn disburses the money.
The committee complained that the police force was leasing vehicles from the public.
“Police are hiring vehicles from the public and some come with impossible conditions. This is not the best arrangement. Treasury should look into the best way to correct this mess,” Haji said.
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He added that the committee is against police leasing vehicles and favours them buying their own vehicles. In 2013, police leased 1,200 vehicles.
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