YES, UNPROMOTED COPS MAY BE DEMOTIVATED, DISLOYAL - PM

LOBAMBA – Prime Minister Russell Dlamini is cognisant that police officers, who have served for many years in the force but were deprived of promotions, may be disloyal and demotivated.

The issue of promotions at the Royal Eswatini Police Service (REPS) took centre stage, yet again, during the Prime Minister’s Office Portfolio Committee debate on the annual performance report for the financial year 2023/24 and budget estimates for the financial year 2024/25. Senators requested the PM to look into the matter of promotions in the police service, because it was not only demotivating the officers who were putting in noticeable effort and had served for multiple years, but was also causing division and unnecessary tensions within the service. The PM couldn’t agree more with the senators on the issue of promotions and stated that his office was working on it. Senator Sigombeni Dlamini was among the legislators who questioned the police promotions. It should be mentioned that present among officials was Acting National Commissioner of Police Lydia Dlamini.

Senate President Lindiwe Dlamini said the non-transparency in promotions at the police service was causing a lot of disharmony, so much that one would think other police officers were disrespectful, yet they were only fighting for their rights. She said some police officers were getting promotions based on their relationship with those at the helm of the service and, because the promoting authority had a soft spot for them, they were getting automatic promotions that were  not informed by one’s performance or the number of years they had served.

Performance

“There should be a system in place that will work as a guide to inform how police officers are promoted. It is very painful for one to serve multiple years and not be promoted, while others get promotions having served for a short period. If one does not get promoted, it should be because there is a certain score that they are not getting, based on such things as conduct and performance,” she said. Senator Chief Ngangabani, who is the Chairperson of the PM’s Office Portfolio Committee, also put emphasis on the matter, stating that the non-transparent promotions could cause tensions and division among the police officers. Members of the House of Assembly had also made a similar plea to the PM, that they should look into the matter of promotions in the police service, because it was causing division among the members of the REPS.

This was after Nkomiyahlaba MP Mduduzi Dlamini submitted that he had been working as a constable for 23 years in the police service and didn’t get any promotion, until he joined politics. On the issue of sharing of houses and some police officers occupying inhabitable houses, the PM said an instruction had been given to the Housing Board to renovate the dilapidated police houses and also work on house adequacy for the members of the police service.

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