Namibia Handover of SARPCCO Chairmanship to Zambia - 2023
Leut. Joseph Shikongo, Namibian Police Inspector General, handed over the Chairmanship of the SADC Chiefs of Police Sub-Committee to the inspector general of the Zambia Police Service, Graphel Musamba.
The handover ceremony took place at the 28th Annual General Meeting of the SADC Chiefs of Police Sub-Committee, also known as the Southern African Regional Police Chiefs Co-operation Organisation (SARPCCO). Mr. Musamba will chair the Sub-Committee for the next 12 months as SARPCCO Chairperson.
In his acceptance speech, Mr. Musamba said he hopes to rely on Leut. Shikongo's experience throughout his tenure.
"I would also like to appreciate the SADC secretariat and the INTERPOL Regional Bureau in Harare, Zimbabwe, for the significant role they jointly played in supporting the outgoing SARPCCO Chairperson during his tenure of office. Our regional activities would not have been fruitful without their consistent commitment to supporting the regional initiatives to combat cross-border crime," he said.
"We are mindful of the fact that crime and the methods of committing it have tremendously evolved over the past years. The advent of the internet, social media and the ability to interconnect communication devices across countries and continents have not only eased the way of doing business but also opened up many avenues for the perpetrators of crime. Our collective responsibility as law enforcers is to ensure that we put our decisions into action to combat transnational organized crime and realize our shared vision of creating a safer environment for our citizenry," he said.
Mr. Musamba also underscored the need to continue empowering law enforcement agencies with contemporary policing skills and state-of-the-art tools.
He added that their shared passion to create much-needed peace and security in the region "depends entirely on how well we put to use the resources, initiatives, capability-building programmes and projects that are available at our disposal".
