PRESIDENT Rupiah Banda yesterday called for the continued protection of peace to stimulate and sustain economic growth and investor confidence in Zambia.

Mr Banda said Zambia had continued to enjoy peace for 46 years because of the role the security wings had played in ensuring the country was safe.

The Government was aware that the police service was understaffed but had managed to maintain peace and reduced crime.

The president said this at a pass-out parade of 589 police recruits at Lilayi police training college in Lusaka.

The parade was attended by Namibia's inspector General of Police, Sebastian Ndeitunga and Angolan police chief commissioner, Paulo de Almeida.

He directed the police and other defence wings to ensure that they protected the lives of the Zambian people in line with part three of the Bill of Rights in the Constitution that guarantees the right to life for all.

The Government had bought equipment that included bullet-proof vests and water canons to help police reduce on the use of fire arms to quell riots and other public disorders.

Mr Banda called on security wings to be loyal to the Government while maintaining professionalism and discipline in their discharge of duty because the people they serve expect protection and guidance.

He also said the delivery of mealie meal to police officers was inefficient and that the Government had decided to provide mealie meal allowances besides other incentives such as accommodation and provision of more uniforms.

A programme was on course to send better-performing police officers abroad for specialised training to improve their career prospectS.

Inspector General of Police, Francis Kabonde said the command followed the Republican Constitution when recruiting police officers by ensuring that all districts were represented.

Out of the 589 officers at the parade, 211 were women, representing 36 per cent, which was above the national gender policy provision of 30 per cent.

Mr Kabonde said the command intended to increase the period of training officers from 10 months to 12 to cater for new forms of vices that include cyber crime and terrorism.

The total number of police officers countrywide was supposed to be around 27,000 but that there were only 14,000.