George Akuffo Dampare, IGP and Justice Kwasi Ainn-Yeboah
PRESIDENT AKUFO-Addohas highlighted some infrastructural and logistical investments being made in the law enforcement as well as security agencies of the country to make them more efficient.
The President,who revealed this in his State of the Nation Address (SONA) yesterday in Parliament, pointed out how government was, for the first time, improving on the infrastructural needs of the judiciary on a major scale.
He disclosed that 100 courthouses and accompanying residences for judges and magistrates were being provided, with 50 of these near completion. These would be handed over to the judiciary soon.
He also indicated that another 121 residential units for the judiciary were also being built across the country, whilst 22 new modern townhouses were also being constructed at Danyame in Kumasi, to address the accommodation challenges facing Court of Appeal judges assigned to the northern sector.
Again, the President revealed work was ongoing on the abandoned Law House, a 12-storey edifice consisting of ten (10) floors above ground and two (2) storeys underground office accommodation for the Office of Attorney-General and Ministry of Justice, and would be completed by the end of this year.
“Mr. Speaker, whilst on the subject of law enforcement, the passage of the Right to Information Act, the Witness Protection Act, the amendment of the Criminal Offences Act, and other laws has enhanced significantly the capacity of the state in the fight against corruption. It is also an undeniable fact that budgetary allocations for institutions actively engaged in public sector accountability, i.e., the Office of the Auditor-General, the judiciary, Parliament and the Ghana Police Service, have witnessed significant increases since I assumed office in 2017,” the President stated.
He added that, “We now have a new Special Prosecutor who appears to have the entire wherewithal necessary to exercise vigorously the prerogatives of his office.”
Military
The President said the first stage of the Military Housing Project, dubbed the Barracks Regeneration Project, has started with construction ongoing at all garrisons across the country.
He also indicated that the Military Training Academy at Teshienear Accra was being modernised, while the Armed Forceswas being retooled and equipped to enable them live up to their duties.
“Each of the different branches of the Armed Forces – the Army, Navy and AirForce – has received significant financial assistance to upgrade its logistical bases, and strengthen its capabilities. Its welfare requirements are being substantially addressed. We are building modernised Armed Forces, with higher numbers of personnel, that will be fit to meet the demands of the 21st century,” the President added.
Police
The President also disclosed that government has been able to provide the much-needed modern equipment for the service, adding governmentwas tackling their accommodation needs as well.
“We are constructing three hundred and twenty (320) housing units at the National Police Training School, which are at an advanced stage of completion. Work is also ongoing on the construction of a huge barracks complex at Kwabenya, to replace the one adjacent to the DVLA at 37, where the conditions of living are poor,” he added.
BY Gibril Abdul Razak