Matadi, 27 July 2011 – An accelerated basic training programme for 279 Congolese National Police (PNC) officers kicked off on 27 July 2011, at the instruction centre of Nvula Matadi. The trainees including 28 female officers will follow training courses focusing on proximity policing.

The opening ceremony for this training programme took place at the Nvula Matadi instruction centre, which is located about 37 kilometers from the Matadi, the capital of Bas-Congo Province. The event was co-presided over by the PNC Inspector General, the MONUSCO Police Comptroller General, the British ambassador to the DR Congo, and the governor of Bas-Congo Province who declared the four-month training session open.

Five addresses were delivered on this occasion. These included a welcome speech by the Provincial Police Inspector, General Raus Chalwe, followed by remarks from the MONUSCO Police Comptroller General, outlining the purpose of this programme. "This training", he said, "aims at providing the PNC with high-quality human resources that are respectful of human rights and acting responsibly in accomplishing their missions to protect citizens and their property."

The UK ambassador, for his part, praised the partnership with the PNC, UNPOL and MONUSCO in the elaboration and implementation of these basic training courses. He also pledged his continued support for such training efforts.

The governor of Bas-Congo, Simon Floribert Mbatshia Batshia, in his speech thanked the British government for extending cooperation and funding which enabled the recent rehabilitation of this instruction centre after it had been abandoned in 1992, and now the holding of this training. Then, addressing the trainee officers, the governor requested that they all pay close attention during the training programme so as to get the best out of it by becoming a well-trained and professional police force and one which is respectful of human rights and close to the population.

The PNC Inspector General, Charles BISENGIMANA, in his address to trainees and guests, noted: « Proximity policing creates a synergy that is essential to combating insecurity. This new work system predisposes the police force to becoming a development factor at the service of the population; furthermore respect for the police's code of ethics and adherence to the principle of good governance at the levels of local proximity police stations, will help propel the Nation forward towards a better future."

This basis training, the first ever held in the DRC, concerns three pilot locations, namely Matadi (Bas-Congo Province), Kananga (Kasai Occidental Province) and Bukavu (Sud-Kivu Province). Prior to this basic training programme, the MONUSCO Police trained 55 Congolese police trainers. Forty training modules were elaborated which were divided into three themes, as follows: general, technical and legal training.

The MONUSCO Police Comptroller General said that by the end of this series of three training sessions, 900 proximity police personnel would have been trained and rendered operational. He added that this training effort was consistent with UN Security Council Resolution 1925/1991 which, among other mandated tasks, requested the UN Mission to provide training and support for capacity-building of the PNC, as part of the Congolese government's process of reforming its security sector.

Maimouna Traoré/MONUSCO