THE deteriorating state of the Maka Police Post in the southern region of Malaita province will only be solve if land dispute in the area is addressed.
The run down facilities at Maka has hindered policing in that region, preventing more officers from being posted to the station.
According to the Malaita Provincial Police Commander David Wate, only two officers are currently serving at Maka due to lack of staff housing.
“Only two officers are serving at Maka at the moment – a male officer and his female colleague,” Mr Wate explained.
“More officers should be posted there to deal with the large area and population in the southern region, but the problem lies with lack of staff houses,” he added.
Mr Wate said there are plans in place to develop Maka police post, but because of land disputes in the area, the development plans have been put on halt.
He said at the moment, when an incident happens in the community only one officer will be dispatched to attend to it, while the other officer remains at station.
“The situation means our two officers there are currently over-worked trying to attend to the law and order situation in that region.”
Mr Wate said the way forward is for the landowners to resolve the dispute at Maka to allow police to further develop the place and increase police presence there.
to allow more officers to post to the area.
In the meantime, the run down Maka police post needs an urgent upgrade to allow Maka police post to fully served its purpose in the Southern region of Malaita.
By BIRA’AU W. SAENI
in Auki
