Rainbow Paints invests K18m to refurbish Limbe Police Station’s facade and inside offices
Limbe Police Station Officer-in-Charge (OiC), Deputy Commissioner Gladson Chipumphula says the facade of his premises is in such a shape that dignifies the status of Limbe Town and that of Blantyre City having been refurbished by one of its dedicated corporate citizen, Rainbow Paints.
Since June last year, Rainbow Paints have been giving Limbe Police Station a new coat of paint of its high quality ‘premium plus’ product to the outside and all offices of the four-storey building — whose original coat upon commissioning in 2009 had completely been washed off.
On Thursday — at the official handover of the completion of work — was a day Deputy Commissioner Chipumphula he said was special, not just to the police station, but to him as well — describing the occasion as more of a warm welcome for him since he has just been stationed there just two weeks ago.
“I must thank my predecessor who worked towards engaging Rainbow Paints to rehabilitate our working environment, which has given me and my fellow men in uniform the impetus to execute our duties as diligently as possible in our endeavour to protect citizens of Limbe.
“We all are committed to work hard in executing our duties — ours is a calling and we are proud of it but sometimes harsh working conditions can demotivate even the most dedicated officer.
“Thus, we applaud Rainbow Paints for accepting our request to refurbish the station — not just the outside, but all the rooms of this four-storey building that is now adding beauty to Limbe and dignifies face of the whole of Blantyre City.”
The function was graced by Limbe Central Councillor, Gerald Lipikwe; Council Chairperson, Hamid Khan; Chipumphula’s senior ranked officers; Rainbow Paints’ Head of Marketing & Communications, Bruno Silas and his entourage; Senior Group Headman Chiwembe and several other community policing members.
Councillor Lipikwe said it was a great honour for him to be present and took pride that Rainbow Paints found it fitting to assist, saying every time he visited the police station or when he passed by it, always pained him that it was in his own Ward and was always in his mind to do something about it.
“Today, I stand tall that management of Limbe Police Station initiated to have their workplace refurbished and took upon reaching out to various stakeholders to assist.
“I join in congratulating Rainbow Paints as they have shown they are true corporate citizens of Limbe and I urge other companies to emulate this example — not just for the police but the whole of Limbe whose needs government alone cannot reach out to.
“This Ward has some richest people from their high profile business companies — they need to come in as a social corporate responsibility.”
He also took cognizance that Rainbow Paints produces high quality products used for road paintings and that last a long period of time and he suggested that next time they would consider to assist Limbe, they could contemplate on painting pedestrian crossings — “especially those close to schools”.
“This can also be initiated by the corporates and business person of Limbe to fund such road signs using Rainbow Paints products.”
He implored on the police officers to take good care of their infrastructure and facilities, saying much as they come and later move on to other stations, it is their duty to also make sure their working place is kept in good condition.
The function was held in the office of community policing on whose walls were plastered with posters of various messages advocating for good citizenry and Lipikwe advised that management should consider procuring picture frames to place such important posters.
“From my observation, each time one poster has retired and needs to be pulled off, it means you peel off the paint on the wall. We need to have these posters in a frame in which new ones could later be easily fitted in.”
In his remarks, Rainbow Paints’ Silas said they found it fitting to assist when they were approached by the station’s management because they have plied their trade in Limbe for the past 32 years.
“We are proud corporate citizens of Limbe and we were not happy seeing it in the state it was in and when we were contacted to redecorate it, we did not hesitate.
“Our duty is to make the work of our men and women in uniform work in an environment that was very suitable so that they can protect us its citizenry better.
“It has taken us that long to refurbish the whole of this building because there are so many rooms and we supplied the best of our products, the premium plus, which is very durable and washable.
“Once there is dirt on the walls, just wash it off and the paint won’t be affected. We just have to keep the walls clean by washing them so that it can take much longer before giving them a new coat of paint,” Silas said.
Limbe Town is a hub of business that attracts many people outside Blantyre District such as Mangochi, Chikwawa, Nsanje, Mulanje and elsewhere — most of whom fall prey to criminals who rob them.
Thus Deputy Commissioner Chipumphula implored on his officers to work hard in order to protect the citizenry while at the same time pleading with the public that when some mistakes arise pointing fingers at the police, they should not rush into burning police buildings.
“This building does not belong to us — it belongs to the public. We come and go but this building remains to serve the interests of the people.
“If we destroy it, where are we going to for assistance when a crime has been committed against us? Let us join hands and work together for the good of our Town and Malawi,” he said.
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