Tina Asante Apeatu, wife of the IGP, dancing with Dr Mahamudu Bawumia to a Ghanaian highlife tune
Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia has called on the Inspector General of Police (IGP) to marshal all strategies to help curtail the debilitating motor accidents on Ghana’s roads as soon as possible.
He said the country is rapidly “losing our brothers and sisters” to preventable road accidents.
“The work is not done, you as a police institution still have challenges you need to overcome…,” he reiterated.
He stated this at the 2017 police headquarters WASSA last Friday.
WASSA, known in security cycles as West Africa Security Services Activities, is observed at the end of each year by the police to celebrate and make merry after a hard year’s work.
Dr Bawumia, who was the special guest at the 2017 WASSA, urged the police to strengthen their intelligence apparatus to engender a more proactive policing.
“I will urge you to continue to pursue the course of professionalism in all your operations, especially public order operations to ensure infraction- free operations, and utmost respect for the right of the people,” he disclosed.
Having made all these demands, Dr Bawumia revealed that government has advanced in its efforts to procure the requisite logistics, equipment and other resources for them as promised.
“Government is of firm conviction that once these resources are made available, your efficiency and overall performance will rate higher,” the vice president added.
Dr Bawumia admonished the police to “explore how we can use technology to help in our policing.”
The vice president urged the police to make good use of the formalisation of the economy to help reduce crimes.
“The introduction of the national identification system together with the digital address system should help in the crime -stoppers efforts,” Dr Bawumia mentioned.
Interior Minister Ambrose Dery explained that the initial stages of this year were challenging to the police, looking at the number of robbery activities recorded in the country but they managed to overcome that challenge.
“We are aware that the police public ratio which was 1:848 has shot to 1:877 persons, we shall continue to work around the clock to reduce the number to the United Nations standard,” the vice president pointed out.
He urged the police to continue to work hard to change the bad image of the service.
“But let me tell personnel that any officer who breaches the law would be dealt with,” he added.
Also present were members of police management board, Chief of Defence Staff Lt Gen Akwa, the Chief Director of the Interior Ministry, Madam Adelaide Annor Kumi, retired IGPs, senior police officers, members of the Police Wives’ Association (PWA), among others.
By Linda Tenyah-Ayettey
lindatenyah@gmail.com