The Acting Regional Commander of Kavango East says law enforcement officers who are drowning in debt find it difficult to perform official duties.
Deputy Commissioner Eino Nambahu says the recent promotions come with salary adjustments and advises those promoted to avoid debt traps and live within their means.
147 members of the police force were promoted in Kavango East, consisting of 93 males and 54 females.
The promotions also came with a word of advice from the acting regional commander.
''Makongo is affecting performance, and it is too much. You should stop going and borrowing money and survive with the little you get. Be in your domain, and Letsego must stop. Your payslip is full of LETSEGO. Improve your salaries and make sure you reduce the Makongo. Tomorrow, you don't have taxi money while you have a transport allowance on your payslip. You don't have accommodation because you want to stay in the barracks. The barracks are for those people at the college, the trainees.''
Deputy Commissioner Nambahu is convinced that members of the force who struggle with various social issues, including debt, are often not in a position to perform optimally.
'' I've gone through the payslips of members in the region because, as a manager, you ought to know why performance is low, and you must take it and look at it from a different perspective. When a person is behind on their payments or has a loan, their performance suffers. That's why, as a manager, you have to seek and interrogate the situation and find out why our members are sometimes not there for the organization. Like the Namibian Police Force, this is where we come in and say, Let's assist members with regard to their welfare. And not only are we assisting because they have financial problems, but we also look at those that are highly performing, which we had to promote.''
The Acting Regional Commander believes promotions are one of many ways to raise staff morale, saying an employee who feels valued is an asset, not only to the force but to the entire community.