Joint security forces assemble at the Buluk police playground in Juba on December 19, 2024, as part of their deployment to ensure safety during the festive season. - Credit: Lou Nelson/Eye Radio

The Inspector General of Police Gen. Abraham Manyuat announced plans to screen the police forces for physical fitness and enforce pension laws to retire elderly officers in a bid to enhance efficiency of the Police Service.

In an exclusive interview with Eye Radio in Juba, Gen. General Abraham Manyuat emphasized that failure to retire officers who have reached the stipulated age for pension is hindering the force’s operational capabilities.

He stressed the need for urgent reforms within the South Sudan Police Service to improve efficiency and operational capacity.

Gen. Manyuat said the police service is currently paying salaries to individuals who are not active officers.

He said some individuals work in private entities while being members of the police, adding that failure to refer individuals to retirement with pension benefits reduces efficiency of police work.

General Manyuat outlined a comprehensive pension program to address the issue, categorizing police personnel into three groups.

He emphasized the need to prioritize the retirement of officers from the first two categories to create a younger, more dynamic force capable of delivering services effectively.

“We must create a pension program and the realization of this work lies in dividing the individuals who have reached retirement age,” he said.

He narrated that the cluster of elderly officers who switched service from Sudan upon independence had received bonuses and pensions.

“The group that came from Khartoum and joined the police forces in 2005, we need to refer them to retirement so that the police can be a striking force and a force capable of providing service.”

Gen. Manyuat added that another group that was in the SPLA forces was not receiving salaries and that group needs support.

General Manyuat highlighted the importance of aligning the police service with legal frameworks that ensure only active and capable officers remain in service.

He urged for a structured approach to retirement, which would streamline resources and enable the force to perform its duties effectively

“According to all state institutions, there is a certain age when an individual reaches it, he is referred to retirement according to the law, but the law is not applied in this regard.”

“The police need to revise the police apparatus by referring some to retirement so that the police can carry out its duties.”