A weeklong training for officers of the Somali Police Force (SPF), to develop and enhance effective and efficient control and management skills for all the police assets, has concluded in Mogadishu.
The asset management technical training, organised by the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) and funded by the Joint Police Programme (JPP), was attended by 18 SPF officers from the departments of logistics, communications, and transport; and others from the SPF Directorate of Training and Planning.
The closing ceremony on Saturday was jointly presided over by the AMISOM Police Commissioner, Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIGP) Augustine Magnus Kailie, and the Director-General in Somalia’s Federal Ministry of Internal Security, Yusuf Ali Mohamed. Also in attendance was Brigadier General Mohamed Abdul Dore, who represented the SPF Police Commissioner, and Inspector Anna-Karin Davidsson, a Policy Advisor, with the United Nations Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM).
AMISOM Police Commissioner, AIGP Kailie, noted that the training was important to developing a Database and accounting for assets within the SPF.
“This course is very important because it will help the SPF to migrate to a fully automated system which can be easily accessed with the click of the button,” AIGP Kailie noted.
He added, “This course is very important because it will help the SPF to migrate to a fully automated system which can be easily accessed with the click of the button.”
The AMISOM Police Commissioner urged the participants to put into practice the knowledge they had acquired.
With the completion of the training, the participants are now skilled in the use of the automated asset management system to accurately capture asset information and track asset movements and maintenance to reduce losses and misuse, ultimately leading to improved service delivery.
The Director-General in the Ministry of Internal Security, Yusuf Ali Mohamed, noted that the training is part of deliberate and strategic efforts undertaken by the Ministry and the JPP to enhance accountability in the SPF and appealed for the training to be extended to the Federal Member States (FMS).
“Majority of Somali police personnel are based in the regions, outside Mogadishu. Most of our assets including land, vehicles and armoury are also located outside Mogadishu so we would like to appeal for this training to be extended to the regions. For those who have just benefitted from their training, I hope you will go back and share the knowledge you have gained with your other colleagues,” Mohamed explained.
The Director-General noted that extending the training to the FMS, would make the police accountable, enhance management of public assets entrusted to the police, and also facilitate the sharing of SPF asset management records with partners, to enable them to provide better support.
Most of the participants noted that the training was timely and will enhance their work at their duty stations.
The SPF Director of Logistics, Captain Ahmed Tahlil Mohamed, said “This is a very important step and will help us to better manage police assets and reduce workload due to the automation process.”
A participant, Chief Inspector of Police (CIP), Asha Mohamed Ali, believed that the training would benefit the entire SPF.
“This system captures more assets and has a strong internet security and therefore cannot be hacked,” CIP Asha said.