Your Excellency, it is an enormous privilege for me to be standing here to welcome you to the Police Training Kabalye for this pass out ceremony.
On behalf of the Uganda Police Force and on my own behalf, I express my earnest gratitude to Your Excellency for always sparing time, to be with us whenever needed most. As Uganda Police Force, we are grateful that you have again, graciously honored our invitation.
Sir, also permit me to welcome the Honorable Minister of Internal Affairs and all the other dignatories who have turned up to witness this memorable event.
Your Excellency, you approved our request to recruit and train this set of trainees and despite the current economic challenges, provided the means for their training and sustenance. This is also in addition to several streams of emergency trainings of personnel to beef up the quality and strength of the Force, so as to enhance its capacity to confront the diverse security challenges facing the nation.
Your Excellency, we wish to specially recognize and thank you for the untiring opportunities, financial support and guidance that enabled us transform, instruct and nurture these men and women to the end products which we see before us today.
Your Excellency, today’s “pregnant’’ pass-out ceremony will bear twin babies. First, it will address the numerical policing gaps that exist in the fulfilment of our mandate. Secondly, it will offer your “Bazukulu” employment opportunities in the security sector so as to contribute to the general economic development of our Country.
Numerically, the Force will now have a staff strength of 49, 928 personnel against a population of 43m. This appears pleasant, but still, falls below the Internationally recognized ratio of 1:500. This re-affirms the need for urgent recruitment and training.
Sir, with your guidance and support, there are significant achievements in the infrastructure within the Force. In addition to the Central Lecture Hall that you commissioned today, the Institution is also finally building its Headquarters in Naguru, and will soon commission the construction of a modern 300 bed Police Hospital in Nsambya.
Similarly, under the leadership of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and through PPP the UPF will receive 53000 accommodation units. The institution also intends to massively install solar gadgets for lighting, drill water for domestic use and package the same in order to reduce budget leakages on utilities, support operations and also participate in production.
Sir, related to the above and in line with your directive, the UPF Management is in advanced stages of implementing the Sub- County Policing model beginning with Greater Masaka Region, where each sub-county will receive a vehicle, motorcycles, radio and personnel strength of 18.
However, in order to achieve all the above, Your Excellency, we request for your unflinching support and direction on two service delivery challenges of restrictions on recruitments and the worsening Police budget reductions.
To the trainees, I congratulate you for the choice you made to pursue a career of service in the Uganda Police Force. But as indicated in my address, you have accepted the highest call to duty any citizen can ever take of securing the lives of people and their property. This is not a task that could be given to just anyone.
You should realise that, being in the Police Force is about accepting the honour and privilege to serve our country at the highest level. Equally, you have accepted to abide by the requirements of exceptional degree of self- discipline, integrity, patriotism and exercise of extraordinary justice to our people.
Therefore, feel privileged to have been selected and to have reached this far. The country has invested so much in you and we expect you to remain healthy and serve our people unreservedly. On this note, I give you my best wishes to serve our country with pride, honour, loyalty, dignity, courage and integrity
Finally, I will end this speech by expressing my sincere appreciation, once again, to Your Excellency, without whose support the training of this batch of trainees would not have been possible.
Similarly, our registered successes in various Policing fields would not have been made possible without your support. I therefore, restate the loyalty and commitment of the UPF to Your Excellency’s resolve to rid the entire country of terrorism and all forms of crimes.
I am also appreciative of the Honorable Minister of Internal Affairs and his entire Ministry team, all our other guests and family members of the trainees and assure you that your sons and daughters are in good hands.
With the above remarks, I take this singular honour to invite the Honorable Minister of Internal Affairs to give his remarks and thereafter invite Your Excellency, The President of the Republic of Uganda and the Commander -in-Chief of the Armed Forces.
FOR GOD AND MY COUNTRY
Thank You, Sir.
…………………………………
J.M. OKOTH-OCHOLA, (ESQ)
INSPECTOR GENERAL OF POLICE
