The government is battling to plug a massive backlog of personal service vehicles for senior security officers amid worsening working conditions in the security sector, The NewsHawks report.
According to the publication, senior officers in the military, police and prison service who are entitled to service vehicles have been on the waiting list for close to three years without receiving the vehicles.
The senior officers are entitled to single-cab trucks such as Ford Rangers.
The NewsHawks reported sources saying nearly 300 lieutenant-colonels who were promoted from 2018 to date have not received their vehicles.
Further, more than 50 superintendents in the police and prison service who were promoted to the rank of chief superintendent are yet to take delivery of the vehicles. A security source is quoted as saying:
As it stands, only battalion commanders in the case of colonels got first preference upon their promotion. For police officers, dispols (officer commanding district) also enjoyed this preferential treatment because Treasury coffers appear to be depleted. It’s been three years since newly promoted officers got new vehicles.
The publication however said it couldn’t get responses for questions sent to Vincent Hungwe, chairperson of the Public Service Commission, Defence Forces Service Commission, Police Service Commission and Prison and Correctional Service Commission, at the time of going to print.