Twenty-Seven (27) Police Officers from SADC Member States on 29th November, 2018 graduated with a Diploma in Strategic Management and Leadership at the Southern African Regional Police Chiefs Co-operation Organisation (SARPCCO) Centre of Excellence which is housed by the Interpol Regional Bureau in Harare, Republic of Zimbabwe.
The Guest of Honour at the Graduation Ceremony, the Inspector-General of Zambia Police, Mr Kakoma Kanganja who is the Chairperson of SARPCCO indicated that SARPCCO will remain an active player in international policing, saying SADC Member States cannot achieve sustainable development in the absence of durable security and peace.
Mr Kanganja commended the SARPCCO Centre of Excellence for designing programmes that inculcate a common policing culture across SADC borders and for capacitating police officers in middle management positions with skills and knowledge that are fundamental in executing their duties effectively and efficiently.
The Chairperson of SARPCCO urged the graduating students to make a difference in the regional policing landscape and to remain ambassadors of change and development towards creating crime free societies in the SADC region and beyond.
The Principal at the SARPCCO Centre of Excellence, Senior Assistant Commissioner Wonder Tembo emphasized that the Diploma in Strategic Management and Leadership is a tailor-made programme that aims to develop strategic planning knowledge among Senior Police Officers within SARPCCO. He also referred the Programme was designed in recognition of the need to have highly educated officers who are capable of embracing and fostering transformation in a fast evolving society with heightened sophistry of illicit activities.
Earlier before the commencement of the Graduation Ceremony, the Director of Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Affairs at the SADC Secretariat, Mr Jorge Cardoso noted the challenges the Centre faces, as presented by the Principal of the SARPCCO Centre of Excellence. Mr Cardoso said the Secretariat will continue to work closely with the Centre in finding means of resolving some of the challenges hindering the fulfilment of the Centre’s mandate.
Formed in 1995, SARPCCO was established out of the profound desire of SADC Member States to foster and entrench sustainable peace and security in the region. SARPCCO Centre of Excellence aims at enhancing quality service delivery, uniformity and standardisation of operations, coordination and conformity to international policing values amongst SARPCCO Member States.
