‘I have the welfare of police officers at heart’ – Mutharika

Malawi President Professor Arthur Peter Mutharika on Monday assured police officers that he has their welfare at heart so that they can execute their duties with utmost comfort.

The president was speaking Monday when he presided over the official handover ceremony of 100 police vehicles from the Chinese Government at Police Headquarters in area 30- Lilongwe.

Mutharika said his concern of how police officers execute their duties is what prompted him to ask for vehicles from the Chinese Government so that mobility should be made easy for them.

“I was asked by the Chinese Ambassador to give him a request of anything I wished the Chinese Government to do for the Malawian people. I did not hesitate, I quickly responded and asked for police vehicles, because police officers protect us, therefore, transport is very important,” he said.

He said the police could not function without an efficient transport system, adding that the vehicles would help in crime management and also help in quick response to crime calls.

He warned that anyone who will be found in any corrupt practices with the Police vehicles will face the law. He also advised that the vehicles should be distributed accordingly to appropriate police stations in the country.

In this regard, Mutharika revealed that his government would construct 10,000 houses for Police officers, Army officers, Immigration officers and the prison service.

The Head of State said his government appreciates the cordial relationship that exists between China and Malawi and he recalled that in 2007, he was among delegates that travelled to China to negotiate the commencement of the bilateral relationship between the two countries.

“The relationship between China and Malawi dates back to December 2007, I was among delegates that travelled to China to negotiate the commencement of the bilateral relationship between the two countries.

“Since then, the relationship has been fruitful evidenced by developmental projects like Malawi University of Science and Technology (MUST), Bingu International Convention Centre (BICC) and the new Parliamentary building,” he explained.

Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs from the People’s Republic of China, Chen Xiaodong, said Malawi has a good number of Chinese investors in its cities, therefore, ensuring tight security by donating vehicles to the Malawi Police would ensure tight security to Chinese investors and other prospective investors to Malawi.

“The vehicles have been specifically crafted for security purposes because they have built-in communication radios and other technical machineries that aid police transportation while they are exercising their duties,” he said.

He assured the Malawi Government that the cordial relationship that has existed between the two countries for the past decade will continue with other important developmental projects.