David Asante Apeatu, in a group photograph with senior police officers and participants of the training/orientation programme
The Inspector General of Police, David Asante-Apeatu, has announced an insurance package of GH¢50,000 to a policeman or woman who dies in the line of duty.
He said if one should die accidentally or naturally, the family would be entitled to GH¢25,000.
“If an officer should suffer permanent disability, the personnel will also be entitled to GH¢25,000.
Three children of the deceased personnel, who passed on in the line of duty, will also be catered for from nursery to tertiary level by the police administration.
Mr Asante-Apeatu revealed this at the closing ceremony of a training /orientation programme for the restructuring of the Motor Traffic and Transport Department (MTTD) of the Ghana Police Service in Accra.
He said since the administration had over the years suffered delays in reimbursement of medical expenses due to its worrisome financial situation, it had provided GH¢12,500 packages for personnel with critical ailments.
The training programme, he said, was among a series of restraining courses lined up to reposition the traffic police as the new face of the Service in the transformation agenda.
“The aim of the course is to adequately equip participants with skills and competencies to delight the motoring public, demonstrate professionalism and reduce corrupt practices on our roads and highways,” he underscored.
The police boss averred that it was time to do away with all indiscipline and anti-social attitudes which lower the esteem of the Service.
“Rebuilding the corporate image of the Service is the administration’s avowed task; and the MTTD as the face of the Service cannot afford to stand aloft,” he stressed.
He revealed that each MTTD personnel would be given a new shoulder batch as a symbol of the new MTTD.
The Director General of the MTTD, COP Maxwell Atingane, said traffic police are the eye of the Ghana Police Service, hence the need to be more professional and democratic in the course of performing their legitimate functions to meet the demands of the public.
He reminded personnel that the MTTD is not an avenue for getting quick money by indulging in unethical acts that will drag the name of the Service into disrepute.
“We are also aware that the administration is going to put its radars all over to detect any unprofessional acts and severe disciplinary action taken against defaulters,”COP Maxwell Atingane disclosed.
On August 21, 2017, the police administration started a training programme for successful selected personnel for the restructuring of the MTTD.
A total of 667 personnel participated in the training/orientation programme.
The participants were taken through topics like overview of the road traffic laws and regulations in Ghana, ethics, integrity and professionalism of traffic police officers, accident investigations, re-construction and analysis, among others.
The participants were also exposed to the practical traffic management and control aspects to allow them have first-hand information on the dynamics of vehicular traffic on the roads.
By Linda Tenyah-Ayettey
(lindatenyah@gmail.com)