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Vice President Dr Mahamudu
Bawumia on Friday urged the Police Service to remain neutral in its operations
and deal decisively with anybody that will foment trouble before, during and
after this year’s parliamentary and presidential elections.
He said the December 7 Election would be a
litmus test for the country’s Democracy and entreated the Police to discharge
their duties professionally devoid of intimidation and harassment of the
public.
Dr Mahamudu Bawumia re-affirmed Government’s
commitment to provide the Police Service with the requisite logistics and tools
to perform their constitutional mandate, in order to safeguard the peace and
security of the nation and ensure a credible and transparent electoral process.
Vice President Bawumia made the call at the 2019
West African Security Services Activity (WSSA) of the Ghana Police Service held
at the Police Headquarters in Accra.
The annual get-together afforded an opportunity
for personnel of the Police Service to take stock of the previous year’s
activities and interact with the civilian population towards ensuring improved
service in the coming year.
At this year’s event, police personnel were
entertained with contemporary music from popular Ghanaian artistes, with plenty
of food and drinks to savour the day.
Vice President Bawumia, also the Chairman of the
Police Council,while recounting some of the support offered to the Service,
said Government since 2017 provided 700 multi-purpose vehicles and three
helicopters to the Service to enhance its operational effectiveness and
safeguard the peace and security of the citizenry.
Additionally, police personnel were given body
armours, cameras and other modern gadgets to safeguard their safety.
Currently, six constables are undergoing
aviation training in South Africa to pilot the helicopters, while 50 personnel
were being trained to constitute the Police Airborne Unit to enable the Police
to respond effectively to aerial situations and protect lives and property.
Vice President Bawumia said 320 housing units
were under construction to offset the housing deficit and thus, entreated the
Service to continue exercising professionalism and adopt modern intelligence
and investigation strategies to safeguard peace and tranquility.
According to him, 20,000 security officers
across the various security agencies due for promotion were promoted since
2017, which motivated and boosted their morale to give off their best.
He said greater collaboration between the Police
and their civilian counterparts would help in curbing crimes and making the
nation a better place to live.
Dr Bawumia lauded the Management of the Police
Service for introducing an Anti-Corruption Action Plan and Complaint Unit to
deal with police misconduct and public complains timeously.
He charged them to work tirelessly to halt the
frequent road carnage by strictly enforcing road safety regulations and
prosecute offenders to serve as a deterrent to others.
“Fatal road accidents often leave
psychological scars and painful experiences on the families of the victims and
therefore being the key institution for ensuring internal security and safety,
you should work to prevent road carnage in the country,” Dr Bawumia
advised.
Vice President Bawumia said government was
leveraging on digitisation to fight crime, saying that, the Driver and Vehicle
Licensing Authority (DVLA) and the National Insurance Commission (NIC) had
linked their database so that the Motor Traffic and Transport Department (MTTD)
of the Police Service could easily check whether vehicles were insured and
possessed the requisite roadworthy documents.
That, he believed, would go a long way to curb
road crashes and rid-off rickety vehicles on the road to ensure road safety for
both motorists and passengers.
Commissioner of Police(COP) Mr Prosper Kwame
Agblor, Director-General, Legal and Prosecution of the Ghana Police Service,
who deputised for the Inspector-General of Police, Mr James Oppong Boanuh, said
the Service, last year, performed its constitutional duties creditably despite
limited number of personnel.
Currently, he said, the
Service had a staff strength of 34,982 with a ratio of 1:808 police to civilian
thus, falling below the United Nations standard of 1:500.
He said the Service lost 11 police personnel in
line of duty last year and a minute of silence was observed to honour their
memory.
COP Agblor said 7,000 police personnel who were
due for promotion in 2019 were duly promoted across various ranks, thereby
boosting their morale to give off their best and ensuring the safety of
Ghanaians.
On accommodation challenge, he said, those who
paid their own rent were duly reimbursed and thus, commended government for
taking measures to solve the police accommodation deficit.
He pledged the Service’s resolve to remain
impartial in its operations as the nation heads for general election to
safeguard peace and security.
The Service rewarded 10 police personnel and two
civilian staff for their exceptional contributions over the past year.
Vice President Bawumia earlier inspected a photo
exhibition mounted by the Police Service showcasing some of the government’s developmental
projects implemented over the past three years.
