MUTARE- The new Greenside Police base built by collaborative efforts
between the police and the community will improve police services in the area
and help them fulfill their constitutional mandate to create a peaceful and secure
environment, said Minister of State For Manicaland Provincial Affairs, Misheck
Mugadza.

Speaking at the handover ceremony of the newly built structure, Minister
Mugadza applauded the pooling together of resources and energies to curb
armed robberies especially those characterised by machete wielding gangs in
the leafy suburbs.

The setting up of the Greenside police base will help stem a growing tide of
crime mainly, armed robberies that have characterised the low density suburb
which is closest to the Mozambican borderline.

Over the past few years, residents in the affluent suburbs of the border city of
Mutare were living in fear amid a spate of armed robberies.

The suburbs of Morningside, Greenside, Beira Corridor, Palmerston, Darlington
and Borderview, all near the Mozambique border, had become hot spots for
machete and axe-wielding robbers.

Mutare Central Police Station’s criminal investigation department has been
working closely with its Mozambican counterparts in Chimoio to crack down
on the criminals.

The robbers usually commit crimes in Zimbabwe and hide out in Mozambique,
where they sell their loot.

Seenfunny Said Minister Mugadza:

“This structure was set up against a backdrop of rising criminality, especially
the machete wielding gangs who were ransacking our major neighbourhood and
vanishing into thin air with our valuables. Our porous border with the Republic
of Mozambique makes policing an uphill struggle that needs dedicated men and
women,” he said.

Minister Mugadza acknowledged the need to fully resource the police force in
order for them to fulfil their constitutional mandate while applauding the
community for helping bridge the gap between the police and the community.

“The Government remains alive to the fact that the police are currently saddled
by resource constraints. May I take this opportunity to inform you that measures
are being taken to optimally equip them with modern tools of trade that meet the
demands of contemporary crime and this can be achieved by such
collaborations from the community,” he added.

In the same vein, Minister Mugadza urged the police to remain vigilant in
fighting a new crime in the form of drug and substance abuse and cut off the
supply of such substances in the province.

“Let us not forget that our communities grapple with the menace of drug and
substance abuse affecting all classes and age groups within Mutare central,
Manicaland and the country at large. The public expects the police to work an
extra mile in the fight against drugs by cutting off all means of supply by
traffickers.

“Do not hesitate to arrest drug suppliers. The police must not be found wanting
in this regard. To all drug and substance dealers and consumers, you should be
warned that no sooner than later you will face the full wrath of the law,” added
Minister Mugadza.