James Agalga
The Minority in Parliament has called on President Akufo-Addo to hold the line on violent crimes in the country, particularly armed robberies, to prevent them from becoming a pattern and malign the image of Ghana.
The NDC members on the Defence and Interior Committee of Parliament said Ghanaians no longer feel safe compared to the immediate past.
Led by the Ranking Member, James Agalga, the Minority insisted at a press conference yesterday that “violent crime related cases, particularly robbery, is shaking the foundation of our nation and it is only fair and a duty for us to call on the Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s administration to up its game.”
The press conference was called on the backdrop of recent robberies which have claimed the lives of some people, including G/Constable Emmanuel Osei of SWAT Unit of the Ghana Police Service and one Afua Badu, a trader at James Town.
The Builsa North MP stated that the incidents of robberies were becoming too many and that the nation could not continue to witness the killing of police officers and citizens through violent crimes, and added that “losing five police officers within a week through different causes is quite worrying.”
“The icing on the cake was the broad daylight robbery at James Town in Accra, the capital city of Ghana with the highest number of police officers,” Mr. Agalga indicated, and added “four more for Nana has begun with rise in the fear of crime. Ghanaians no longer feel safe compared to our immediate past.”
He attributed the situation to low morale of police officers as a result of the many senior officers who are either on contract or extension of service.
“We agree that giving contracts to officers after they hit the mandatory retirement age of 60 is the prerogative of the President but if government decisions do not produce the results that citizens expect, the peace and security that we so desire, we will become spectators and not citizens if we fail to raise the red flag.”
According to Mr. Agalga, citizens’ trust for the police must not be allowed to break, and therefore called the President to “demonstrate leadership to ensure the peace and security of a country that has remained the oasis of peace in a troubled region is not compromised.”
By Ernest Kofi Adu, Parliament House