By Martha Louis – EM TV News, Lae
Lae Metropolitan Police Commander, Chief Superintendent Anthony Wagambie Jnr, wants the seven incomplete duplexes at Bumbu Police Barracks to be completed quickly.
The Bumbu Police Barracks Housing Program in Lae began in 2012. It cost K2.5 million, with the aim of the project to ease the chronic housing problem faced by the constabulary.
The contractors have left, the houses are incomplete and the yards are overgrown with weeds. At least two members of the constabulary are living in the settlements; the others still live in condemned housing in the police barracks.
Wagambie Jnr will be liaising with police headquarters to find out why these houses are yet to be completed.
Into the fourth year, and the seven duplexes remain incomplete. Lae policemen and women have the difficult task of policing PNG’s fastest growing city.
Despite living in filthy conditions, they continue to provide an essential service.
This year, ACP for Northern Region, Peter Guinness, had also questioned why those houses were yet to be completed.
As the government talks about increasing manpower within the constabulary, it must first address the accommodation problem they face.
Senior officers within the constabulary say there is no point recruiting young personnel when there is no accommodation for them.
