By Frank Amponsah
The President, His Excellency Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo said government is prepared to strengthen the Police, fashioning it into an honest, disciplined, efficient and robust force, whose emphasis will be on proactive and preventive policing, rather than reactive.
According to him government continues to organize any assistance it can to enable the Police provide the Ghanaian people the kind of service they deserve.
He said: “Government continues to mobilise whatever assistance it can to enable the Police provide the Ghanaian people the kind of service they deserve. This year, we are undertaking the rehabilitation of police stations throughout the country to standardize the infrastructure.”
The President was delivering his remarks yesterday at the commissioning of a newly-constructed Police Station at Tesano in Accra, to enhance police activities in the area.
The building, which constructed by Dr. Osei Kwame ‘Despite’, will serve the peoples of Tesano and its environs.
President Akufo-Addo noted that the issue of law and order is particularly important at this time, when indiscipline, lawlessness and outbreaks of mob justice are threatening the rule of law, and, therefore, vital that the Executive should offer its full support to the Police to allow it to perform its duty of maintaining law and order.
The facility is a donation from Osei Kwame “Despite”, who in March this year, unveiled a similar edifice in his hometown, Wiamoase in the Ashanti Region. The building will serve the peoples of Tesano and its environs.
The President mentioned that the recruitment of some 4,000 more police officers this year and the recruitment of 13,500 young men and women into the Community Protection module under the Youth Employment Agency, with an additional 1,500 more to be recruited soon are some programs government has put in place to beef up security across the country.
The President added that negotiations have been completed for the rollout of Phase II of the Alpha Project, which involves the deployment of a total of 8,700 CCTV cameras across all the districts, with three command centres in Accra, Kumasi and Tamale.
To equip the Police better, the President revealed that at least 1,000 new vehicles are being procured for the Police this year, with 200 pick-up vehicles having already been allocated under Operation Calm Life, with 200 saloon vehicles to be delivered soon, with more to come.
“Resources have been allocated for police kits, protective gear and adequate quantities of other essential equipment. On their part, we insist that the Police should pay particular attention to the proper maintenance of these equipment and facilities,” the President admonished.
“Residents must also co-operate with the Police, and give them maximum backing in the discharge of their duties. When the community and police work together, we can be assured of our safety and security, and, then, we can channel all our energies and resources into building a progressive and prosperous nation,” President Akufo-Addo added.
He was confident that with the citizenry and police joined together at the frontline in the fight against crime, “we can help establish an orderly society, governed by the rule of law.”
In his speech, Nana Dr. Baffour Osei Kwame Despite said the inauguration of the multimillion edifice is part of his birthday commemoration.
In March this year, Nana Dr. Baffour Osei Kwame Despite unveiled a similar edifice in his hometown, Wiamoase in the Ashanti Region.
Prior to that, he constructed and handed over an ultramodern Children’s Block at the 37 Military Hospitals.
All these projects were part of a promise he made as part of his birthday celebrations on February 2nd this year.
He revealed that he promised to make three donations, a children’s block at the 37 Military hospital, which was commissioned on his birthday, a new Office complex for the Tesano police Divisional Headquarters and DOVVSU in Accra, which was commissioned yesterday.
Dr. Osei Kwame, popularly known as Despite, is known for his philanthropic activities.
He has facilitated the annual blood donation exercise, the annual free transportation services, distribution of food items at Christmas, support for the sick, widows, children, the community and the nation as a whole. Earlier this year, he donated three multimillion edifices to the nation.
These buildings are his modest social responsibility to Ghana which he announced on his birthday, 2nd February.
The newly built police station contains 8 furnished offices, a 10 seater Conference room, a kitchen with dining, 4 washrooms, modernized male and female cells with washrooms and a charge office with a lobby.
According to him, the construction of the edifice has come to really ease the unfavorable working conditions the old police station posed for both the indigenes and police officers of the town.
He said, “The inauguration of this edifice for which we are here, is the Office complex for the Tesano Police Divisional Headquarters and the Dovvsu unit. This edifice was the brain child of the former divisional Commander at Tesano, ACP Lydia Donkor now director for legal and prosecution for Greater Accra Region who brought a proposal for a smaller structure for the Dovvsu unit.”
Dr. Osei Kwame Despite, upon viewing the allocated land for the structure decided to build it massively so it can see here to cater for both the Division and the Dovvsu unit as a whole. As said during the inauguration of the Wiamose Police Station, “One integral part to the development of a country is its security, which the Cambridge English Dictionary defines as protection of a person, building, organisation, or country against threats such as crime or attacks. Therefore an assured security in a country brings peace and harmony and these help foster rapid economic developments.”
The edifice has private washrooms for the Divisional Commander, Divisional Crime officer’s office, the DOVSSU Commander’s office, Station officers, The orderly Room for the Divisional Officers, The Dovvsu General Office,a ten seater conference room, a kitchen, a dining room, a total of 5 washrooms, an executive lobby, a general lobby, a conducive counter back area, and two modernized Cells with washrooms for women and juveniles.
Dr. Osei Kwame urged all private businessmen and people who are blessed as such to help support the Police administration and the nation as a whole in any legal manner possible as we cannot leave this task to the government alone to accomplish.
He said: “We encourage the Police Administration to continue the protection of citizens, their properties and foreigners in the country as a whole. We also hope the completion and inauguration of this complex will foster harmony among the police and civilians to ensure the safety of the nation at large.”
It was the hope and expectation that the Police in the Tesano Division will enhance their engagement with the communities they serve, because that is a more sustainable way of reducing crime.
