COP Asante-Apeatu
There was widespread excitement among a cross section of police officers yesterday following the announcement of COP Asante-Apeatu as the Acting Inspector General of Police.
He replaces Mr. John Kudalor whose contract with the Service has ended.
A false story earlier about the extension of the contract for John Kudalor dampened the morale of most police officers; their demand for change in the status quo appearing to have suffered a setback.
Anxiety replaced the dampened morale as the prospects for a new IGP was heightened by an announcement that the President would announce a new Chief Constable.
There were still doubts in the minds of some officers who wondered whether the contract extension announcement was not true after all.
Then David Asante-Apeatu’s name was eventually mentioned and there was muffled euphoria that change had eventually come.
Chief Inspectors who sat for examination to earn them admission into the Police College for the pre-commissioning six month cadet officers’ course can now heave a sigh of relief as discrimination would most likely give way to a level playing field for all irrespective of ethnic or political affiliation.
The results for the examination which was fraught with integrity deficiencies have been unduly withheld so, as cynics think, favourites could be given an upper hand.
Earlier, Senior NCOs complained about the undue withholding of their promotions which they attributed to the outgone IGP who in spite of the tendentious delay elevated the cops in his household including his driver leaving others to grumble.
Sergeants awaiting promotion to the Inspectorate class were equally peeved that some of their colleagues were promoted but they were told to await a training programme to prepare them for their elevation to the Inspectorate class something they regarded as discriminatory. One of them said “it is unusual and part of a ploy to deny us our dues.”
Like President Nana Akufo-Addo, the expectations of police officers, as a new IGP takes over, are high for an internal security organization whose integrity has suffered an all-time low in recent times.
In a related development all transfers announced earlier by the outgone IGP have been frozen; one of the last executive orders he issued. It would be recalled that a signal about transfers of some officers was sent out only to be reversed before John Kudalor’s exit.
By A.R. Gomda