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General News on Wednesday, June 12, 2019
Source: Larry Gaperer
2019-06-12
Panel members at Eye on Port issue
The Ghanaian Navy and the Ghana Police Service Marine and Railway Unit have badured the public that they continue to protect the port and territorial waters of Ghana.
This was said when the commanding officer of the Eastern Navy, Commodore James Kontoh, and the commander of the Ghana Navy, Ports and Railways Unit, the Chief Superintendent Joseph Ababio participated in the live broadcast of Eye on Port on national television, which aims to bring the port and marine activities closer to the public.
According to Commodore James Kontoh, commander of Eastern Naval Command operations, the navy is a branch of Ghana's armed forces tasked with maintaining a presence on Ghana's seas to prevent the country from threatening security.
He said that this was done by monitoring, patrolling and using intelligence as part of technical collaborations with other security agencies operating in the maritime area.
"Previously, each activity was limited to the port and the anchorage area, which prevented us from seeing very far. So there is a huge effort to make sure that at least we are not completely blind to the sea. We may have some fog but we should be able to see and go further. So we use all kinds of means, both electronic and surveillance, to control the sea, "he said.
Commodore Kontoh added that there are collaborations between the Ghana navy and the navies of neighboring countries in the Gulf of Guinea, in order to combat the epidemic of piracy and sea flights that devastated the region .
"We show our presence at sea by ensuring that our vessels patrol. And, as I said, our marine operations centers have electronic monitoring systems that can give us a lot of information about what's going on. There is also a lot of collaboration with other stakeholders such as the Maritime Police and neighboring countries. For example, the Gulf of Guinea region has been divided into maritime areas, which allows us to easily share information about what is happening, "he said.
The senior naval officer explained this success to all the other security agencies that help the navy keep our waters, describing them as a difficult task.
"I would not want the navy to take all the credit. First of all, we have the security team of the Port Authority and the ports of Ghana. The main team is responsible for harbor security and anchorage, and we have a joint patrol team of port security and marine police. , the navy and national security. The Ghana Maritime Authority has also developed surveillance systems that it shares with the navy. So everything that goes on there sees it and reports it to the navy, and we have ships going there to deal with it. "
Chief Commissioner Joseph Ababio of the Maritime Police Unit of the Ghana Police Service also stated that the maritime area should be regulated against criminal offenses as it was under the jurisdiction of Ghana. As a result, the marine component was incorporated into the Port and Railway Police Services Unit in 2008.
In dealing with the threat of stowaways, the commander of the Ports, Railways and Navy unit said that, in the case of a criminal offense, it is difficult to apply sufficiently severe penalties to deter other potential culprits.
"Unfortunately, the key factor is that the punishment for those who commit such offenses is very minimal" unless the law is changed. It's a crime. Now that we are all turning to a blue economy, some offenses committed at sea and in the ocean have been examined. When enacting the new laws, they would incorporate some of these offenses, "he said.
He also hinted that more and more unscrupulous individuals were taking advantage of the harbor environment to engage in fake vehicle sales.
"It's becoming almost everyday for people to use cyberspace to advertise cars and auctions at the port. I said that in the port itself, cars are neither auctioned nor auctioned. Cars are sold in garages. Many people are fooled into such circumstances where they are drawn to the harbor environment, deceiving buyers, showing cars that they claim belong to them, take their money and run away, said the commander of the maritime police.
He warned the public that cars are not sold at the port and that people should refrain from talking to these people.
He also said that when tracing the perpetrators, the victims should pledge to provide the police with all the information they need to arrest them.
"The police are warning and patrolling. But these people who are fooled also have trouble identifying these criminals, which makes it difficult for them to fish. It's a shame because these victims are separating with no less than 70,000 cedis, "he said.
With regard to trade facilitation, the commander of the railway and railway unit revealed that the police had removed most of the obstacles on the transit corridor, which would aim to create a corridor. free from harbadment for people in transit.
He said the checkpoints that are placed at night in the corridors are intended to protect communities from crime, rather than arresting drivers for extortion.
"When you cross the corridor during the day, the barriers are open. In the direction of the police, some areas have instant checks at night as they are subject to armed robbery. On the Kintampo – Tamale and Cape Coast – Takoradi are examples where we have many of these stops, but their presence is there to prevent crimes and not to extort money, "he said.
However, after responding to the appellants' concerns about the extortion, he asked the civilians to refuse to pay undue money to the police.
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