Waula: Association execs must work with govt

National, Normal
Source:

The National,Friday20January 2012

By JUNIOR UKAHA
A FORMER Police Association presidential candidate has called on the association’s executives to stop using the media to issue threats on the force’s position in the political impasse.
Snr Cons Steven Waula made the call after association president Lowa Tambua said in a media conference on Jan 13 that “if worse comes to worse the police force will withdrew its services”.
Waula’s call followed concerns raised by a former acting president Moses Pain on Monday about the whereabouts of K20 million given to the association’s Welfare Fund by the government via Department of Finance.
Waula said this type of leadership was uncalled for and demonstrated that the executives “are reckless and operating without proper guidance”.
“I ask this executive to refrain from stating that there are two police commissioners and support Tom Kulunga as he has the support of the Government of the day.
“My plea is that the Police Association has failed miserably in giving benefits to members of the police force and for investigations into misappropriation of the association’s money,” he said.
Association president Lowa Tambua said he had not issued any threats and that Waula’s statement was politically motivated.
“Waula is trying to spoil my name and that of the executives. He should stop crying over spilt milk,” he said.
Tambua said Pain and Waula were members of the previous executive that left the association bankrupt when they left and they should not be complaining.
“Pain and Robert Ali should know where the money is. They were former executives of the association,” he said.
“I don’t know about the purported K20 million given to the association as claimed by Pain. I don’t know where he got the amount from.”
Tambua said he took office last September and had since discovered that there was “nothing” in the association accounts.
He said his executives were in the process of investigating the accounts but the fight over the Police Commissioner’s post between Tom Kulunga and Fred Yakasa had halted their efforts.
He assured that the accounts would be investigated and findings made known to its members after the tussle over the commissioner’s post had been resolved.