Frequent accidents that kill people, members must stop – Akufo-Addo

General News of Saturday, March 23, 2019

Source: Graphic.com.gh

2019-03-23

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo expressed her deep concern over the bloody accidents that killed nearly 80 people in the Eastern and Central Bono regions on Friday and called for swift implementation of the committee's recommendations. interdepartmental committee to examine road accidents. in the countryside.

After praying for the souls of those who lost their lives in accidents, he revealed that the committee, which included the Ministers of the Interior, Roads and Highways, and Transportation, was tasked with the following: consider and propose measures to deal with the improvement of the state of the roads. accidents in the country, had completed its work and formulated recommendations for the attention of the police.

The occasion was the end of 2018 socialization of the West African Security Services Association (WASSA) of the Ghana Police Service at the headquarters of the police in Accra.

The president said that frequent accidents on the country's highways, which have killed and must be killed, must be stopped.

Police

President Akufo-Addo said for the moment that while the police suffered from a poor public image, it was heartening to see leaders working diligently to turn the tide and cited two recent examples to support his remarks. .

The first, he said, was the shocking video of a trotro driver and his mate attacking a police officer in Kasoa; The two men were promptly arrested, brought to court and sent to court.

The second was that police officers who had badaulted three Ghanaian Times reporters were arrested, for whom he congratulated the Inspector General of Police (IGP).

The President said that it was important for the growth of society that justice be done to all kinds of people without fear, without favoritism, affection or will, and that it would be in the interest of all that the police service maintains its neutrality and professionalism guaranteed by the constitution. .

Vigilance

He re-examined the threat of political vigilance and reaffirmed his determination to put an end to the acts, stressing that the crime was a crime and that it should be treated as such by the forces of the order, whatever the person involved.

President Akufo-Addo announced that he had instructed the Attorney General to prepare and submit to Parliament, as soon as possible, specific legislation to combat this phenomenon and provide for appropriate sanctions.

He asked the police for the adoption of the law and its application.

He badured the police that the government, for its part, would help provide the services the public deserved. To that end, his government was to build a new national police training academy in Kenyase, the number one in the Ahafo region. at the Federal Bureau of Investigation Academy of the United States.

The promotions

The President stated that 1,502 senior police officers and more than 18,000 junior officers have been promoted since taking office.

He added that the era of officers who remained in the service without being promoted after four years was over, adding that this practice would be abandoned in accordance with the Ghana Police Regulations to improve the working conditions of the personnel and the police. encourage to be more professional.

In addition, President Akufo-Addo said the work of 320 housing units for officers of the Police Academy was underway, while 4,000 police were recruited and 2,000 already in training.

He added that, in addition to the 320 vehicles provided to the police, an additional 273 vehicles would be delivered soon, while three helicopters would be purchased and officers would be trained to fly them.

He also referred to the annual leave of the police and pointed out that it was a right and not a privilege, which is why all officers and men should be allowed to go on leave.

"If the requirements do not allow it, it should be reprogrammed," said the president.

Interior Minister Ambrose Dery badured officers and men that the government would continue to provide equipment and other resources to the police and provide the necessary encouragement.

He urged the police to remain professional and fair in their dealings.

PGI

Inspector General of Police David Asante-Apeatu described 2018 as a difficult year. However, he said that everything that happened was within the limits of the operational capabilities of the police.

He said the emergence of social media and a better-informed population had heightened the number of crime reports and reiterated that the crime rate in 2018 had remained at reasonable levels, although it was not the case that the crime rate had risen. he did not provide any statistics.

Mr. Asante-Apeatu spoke about the reprehensible behavior of some members of the police on an international mission which, according to him, altered the image of the service on the international level. They were treated in accordance with the rules and regulations of the UN and were currently following administrative procedures to finalize the issue.