Page 3: Daily Graphic, September 3, 2010.
Story: Albert K. Salia
THE Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority has disputed claims by the Food and Beverages Association of Ghana (FABAG) that Ghana is losing an estimated $40 million annually due to smuggling of rice into the country.
According to the division, there seemed to be conjectures and a deliberate distortion of figures by the FABAG in a bid to portray the Customs division in a bad light and also to serve the interest of the association.
It, therefore, challenged the FABAG to substantiate its allegations.
Reacting to the Wednesday, September 1, 2010 publication of the Daily Graphic in which the FABAG raised alarm about the activities of rice smugglers and their effect on revenue generation and business in Ghana, the head of Client Service Unit of Customs, Chief Collector Robert Mensah, said "the so-called 350,000 metric tonne rice imports did not give a time frame for such imports nor did it indicate the basis for determining how 100,000 metric tonnes of it are smuggled".
He said the FABAG did not also give a clear indication of how the $40 million revenue loss was calculated in terms of duty rates over the period, considering the fact that at various times in the past few years tariffs had varied from zero-rated to 20 per cent import duty in accordance with the government’s trade policy.
With tables and figures to support the position of Customs, Mr Mensah said rice imports from 2007 to August 2010 amounted to 2,770,348.28 metric tonnes with GH¢378.71 million paid as tax revenue, adding that for the year 2009 only, 779,125.38 metric tonnes of rice was imported with GH¢112.79 million paid as tax.
"Comparing the 2009 figures to 2008 and August 2010 figures, it is discernible that despite lower volumes in metric tonnes, duty collected in the two years was higher and this is explained by the fact that the government removed duty on imported rice in May 2007 and re-introduced it in January 2010," he said.
Mr Mensah said a total of 781,847.73 metric tonnes of rice was admitted for consumption in 2009 with GH¢97.29 million taxes paid while 1,001,848.90 metric tonnes of rice was admitted for consumption in 2008 with GH¢106.06 million paid as taxes.
As of August 2010, he said, 207,526.27 metric tonnes of rice had been admitted for consumption with a total of GH¢62.59 million paid as taxes.
"Thus, whereas importers took advantage of the zero-rated incentive to import more rice in 2008-2009, with the introduction of the rice tariff of 20 per cent in 2010, the volumes imported have reduced, yet the government obtains higher revenue," he added.
Mr Mensah said a closer look at developments at the Elubo border indicated a similar trend as more rice was imported in 2009 due to the zero-rated tax with GH¢1.90 million paid as duty whereas in 2010 for the period up to August, almost the same volumes have been imported but this time with a higher revenue yield of GH¢3.69 million.
According to him, the facts on the ground prove beyond doubt that imports increased over the years in Elubo despite the so-called manipulations and lower duty rates that had been alleged by the FABAG.
Touching on the incidence of smuggling, he said it was undeniable that with the nature of Ghana's borders characterised by waterways, jungles, mountains and ranges, as well as numerous farms and pathways, certain levels of smuggling occurred.
"Despite the shortcomings and incidence of smuggling, it is inconceivable to assert that as much as 100,000 metric tonnes of rice could be smuggled in and how such quantities could be ferried whether by road, waterway or footpath," he said.
Mr Mensah reminded members of the FABAG that there was a glut on the market and that was compounded by good harvest of maize and yam, stressing that "the way forward is not to contrive figures and scenarios to run down state institutions".
He also reminded the FABAG that freight alone on their imports increased their cost as against those who used the western corridors with less expensive mode of transportation.
Earlier at a press conference, the FABAG had reiterated its earlier position with their spokesperson, Mr John Awuni, saying that the disparity in tariff structure between Ghana and its neighbours was a major contributory factor to the woes of importers using the Tema port.
He, therefore, called on the government to push for uniformity in the tariff structure in ECOWAS countries as the prevailing system created room for abuse.
Mr Awuni said failure on the part of the government to address the challenges would result in job losses for legitimate importers and revenue loss to the state.
He said the quest to promote local rice consumption would also suffer since consumers would prefer the cheap imported perfumed rice and cited the problem of tomato farmers to illustrate his point.
Friday, September 3, 2010
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Massive rice smuggling: $40m DOWN THE DRAIN
Front Page: Daily Graphic, September 1, 2010.
Story: Albert K. Salia
GHANA is said to be losing an estimated $40 million annually as a result of rice smuggled into the country.
Estimates compiled by the Food and Beverages Association of Ghana, for presentation to the Ministry of Trade, indicate that 100,000 metric tonnes out of the 350,000 metric tonnes of rice imported into the country are smuggled in, causing the country the millions of dollars in tax revenue.
The resort to the smuggling of rice is attributed to the high duty and other tariffs being implemented at Ghana’s ports as against the country’s West African neighbours.
In that smuggling adventure, Elubo, Debiso, Nkrankwanta, Dadieso and Enchi border areas are the most frequently used to bring in the 100,000 metric tonnes; 75,000 metric tonnes of which are described as high value perfumed rice.
The finding of the association, made up of about 20 local entrepreneurs, also revealed that rice sales for 2010 dropped by 25 per cent.
It also noted that duty on imported rice in Cote d’Ivoire was 12.5 per cent with no Valued Added Tax (VAT), while “On the contrary, importers in Ghana have to pay 20 per cent customs duty in addition to 12.5 per cent VAT and 2.5 per cent National Health Insurance Levy (NHIL) in addition to other levies totalling 40 per cent.
“So the inherent difference of 22.5 per cent in the landing cost of imported rice in the respective countries works to the advantage of the traders involved in the smuggling,” they added.
They explained that there was a difference to the tune of GH¢7 between a perfumed 25kg bag smuggled rice and the legally imported one.
According to them, the traders involved in the trade are able to manage the direct cost by manipulating the duty at the Ghana-Cote d’Ivoire border and hence the difference of GH¢7 per bag.
The players said there was also an under-declaration of customs duty to the tune of 50 per cent.
Citing high value perfumed rice as an example, they noted that the CIF price of Thai perfumed rice was $950 per metric tonne and customs duty of 20 per cent amounted to $190 per metric tonne, whereas duty paid at the Ghana-Cote d’Ivoire border was $95 per metric tonne.
They explained that the loss of revenue to the Ghana government on account of VAT on 75,000 metric tonnes was $6,412,500 annually while customs duty on the same quantum of imports was $7,125,000 annually, bringing the total loss of revenue on perfumed rice alone to $13.5 million.
They said the fear was that international prices of rice had started rising in the last four weeks, which was likely to promote more smuggling into the country, stressing that “rice prices have increased from an average of about $800 to $900 in the last four weeks”.
Story: Albert K. Salia
GHANA is said to be losing an estimated $40 million annually as a result of rice smuggled into the country.
Estimates compiled by the Food and Beverages Association of Ghana, for presentation to the Ministry of Trade, indicate that 100,000 metric tonnes out of the 350,000 metric tonnes of rice imported into the country are smuggled in, causing the country the millions of dollars in tax revenue.
The resort to the smuggling of rice is attributed to the high duty and other tariffs being implemented at Ghana’s ports as against the country’s West African neighbours.
In that smuggling adventure, Elubo, Debiso, Nkrankwanta, Dadieso and Enchi border areas are the most frequently used to bring in the 100,000 metric tonnes; 75,000 metric tonnes of which are described as high value perfumed rice.
The finding of the association, made up of about 20 local entrepreneurs, also revealed that rice sales for 2010 dropped by 25 per cent.
It also noted that duty on imported rice in Cote d’Ivoire was 12.5 per cent with no Valued Added Tax (VAT), while “On the contrary, importers in Ghana have to pay 20 per cent customs duty in addition to 12.5 per cent VAT and 2.5 per cent National Health Insurance Levy (NHIL) in addition to other levies totalling 40 per cent.
“So the inherent difference of 22.5 per cent in the landing cost of imported rice in the respective countries works to the advantage of the traders involved in the smuggling,” they added.
They explained that there was a difference to the tune of GH¢7 between a perfumed 25kg bag smuggled rice and the legally imported one.
According to them, the traders involved in the trade are able to manage the direct cost by manipulating the duty at the Ghana-Cote d’Ivoire border and hence the difference of GH¢7 per bag.
The players said there was also an under-declaration of customs duty to the tune of 50 per cent.
Citing high value perfumed rice as an example, they noted that the CIF price of Thai perfumed rice was $950 per metric tonne and customs duty of 20 per cent amounted to $190 per metric tonne, whereas duty paid at the Ghana-Cote d’Ivoire border was $95 per metric tonne.
They explained that the loss of revenue to the Ghana government on account of VAT on 75,000 metric tonnes was $6,412,500 annually while customs duty on the same quantum of imports was $7,125,000 annually, bringing the total loss of revenue on perfumed rice alone to $13.5 million.
They said the fear was that international prices of rice had started rising in the last four weeks, which was likely to promote more smuggling into the country, stressing that “rice prices have increased from an average of about $800 to $900 in the last four weeks”.
Friday, August 27, 2010
'Participate in environmental issues'
Page 19: Daily Graphic, August 27, 2010.
Story: Albert K. Salia
A DIRECTOR at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Mr Samuel D. Anku, says citizen participation in environmental issues will be greatly enhanced if there is access to information law to enhance accessibility to environmental information.
That way, he said, citizen’s participation in decision-making processes on the environment would not only be effective but also maintain trust and confidence between the government and the citizens.
“Confidentiality of information on grounds of national security provide a broad cloak while repressive measures for wrongful disclosure by government officials and the lack of sanctions for failure to provide access do not encourage access to information,” he noted.
Mr Anku, who is a Director of Intersectoral Networks Division at the EPA, was speaking at a round-table discussion on “Our environment, our economy, our democracy,” in Accra.
He said the passage of the Right to Information Bill would strengthen citizen access to environmental information.
It was organised by the Governance Africa Foundation, a non-governmental organisation.
He said for public participation to be effective, the local people must understand the concepts of environmental democracy in order to be able to contribute to the decision-making process.
He stressed the need for the government to firmly legalise statutory environmental committees at the decentralised levels and assure their effective and proactive functioning with a broad environmental scope.
“These decentralised structures should play a key role in planning, monitoring, early warning and information management,” he said.
Mr Anku said as Ghana strove to implement poverty reduction and environmental sustainability strategies, strong mechanisms for implementation of access rights could help create new economic opportunities for poor people and promote equity and social justice.
He said when citizens were conscious of their rights, they were able to demand accountability and responsibility on the part of their government.
In a welcoming address, the Executive Director of the Governance Africa Foundation, Mr Kwaku Baa Owusu, noted that Ghana, just like other countries, would have to exploit its resources to sustain itself and to ensure the well-being of its people.
He, however, said that exploitation must be done within a framework that did not compromise the sanctity of Article 36 (9) of the 1992 Constitution.
In a speech read on his behalf, the Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, Dr Kwabena Duffour, said the threat of climate change was real and had the potential of adversely affecting Ghana’s plans for sustainable economic growth, food security and the health of the citizenry.
He said the negative impacts of climate change could undermine the government’s plans and assumptions on economic growth, health, social protection, agriculture, fisheries and trade.
“With careful planning and commitment, however, some of the damaging effects of climate change can be reduced and positive changes can be turned to economic advantage,” he said.
Dr Duffour said the ministry would seek economic benefits from climate mitigation by adopting innovative approaches in collaboration with other Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to trapping carbon through conservation of existing forests, rehabilitating former forest areas and developing new plantations.
Such measures, he said, should bring their own financial rewards by enabling investors to obtain carbon credits on the commercial market.
Story: Albert K. Salia
A DIRECTOR at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Mr Samuel D. Anku, says citizen participation in environmental issues will be greatly enhanced if there is access to information law to enhance accessibility to environmental information.
That way, he said, citizen’s participation in decision-making processes on the environment would not only be effective but also maintain trust and confidence between the government and the citizens.
“Confidentiality of information on grounds of national security provide a broad cloak while repressive measures for wrongful disclosure by government officials and the lack of sanctions for failure to provide access do not encourage access to information,” he noted.
Mr Anku, who is a Director of Intersectoral Networks Division at the EPA, was speaking at a round-table discussion on “Our environment, our economy, our democracy,” in Accra.
He said the passage of the Right to Information Bill would strengthen citizen access to environmental information.
It was organised by the Governance Africa Foundation, a non-governmental organisation.
He said for public participation to be effective, the local people must understand the concepts of environmental democracy in order to be able to contribute to the decision-making process.
He stressed the need for the government to firmly legalise statutory environmental committees at the decentralised levels and assure their effective and proactive functioning with a broad environmental scope.
“These decentralised structures should play a key role in planning, monitoring, early warning and information management,” he said.
Mr Anku said as Ghana strove to implement poverty reduction and environmental sustainability strategies, strong mechanisms for implementation of access rights could help create new economic opportunities for poor people and promote equity and social justice.
He said when citizens were conscious of their rights, they were able to demand accountability and responsibility on the part of their government.
In a welcoming address, the Executive Director of the Governance Africa Foundation, Mr Kwaku Baa Owusu, noted that Ghana, just like other countries, would have to exploit its resources to sustain itself and to ensure the well-being of its people.
He, however, said that exploitation must be done within a framework that did not compromise the sanctity of Article 36 (9) of the 1992 Constitution.
In a speech read on his behalf, the Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, Dr Kwabena Duffour, said the threat of climate change was real and had the potential of adversely affecting Ghana’s plans for sustainable economic growth, food security and the health of the citizenry.
He said the negative impacts of climate change could undermine the government’s plans and assumptions on economic growth, health, social protection, agriculture, fisheries and trade.
“With careful planning and commitment, however, some of the damaging effects of climate change can be reduced and positive changes can be turned to economic advantage,” he said.
Dr Duffour said the ministry would seek economic benefits from climate mitigation by adopting innovative approaches in collaboration with other Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to trapping carbon through conservation of existing forests, rehabilitating former forest areas and developing new plantations.
Such measures, he said, should bring their own financial rewards by enabling investors to obtain carbon credits on the commercial market.
Thursday, August 26, 2010
19 FACE PROBE. At CEPS for fraud, etc
Front Page: Daily Graphic, August 26, 2010.
Story: Albert K. Salia
NINETEEN officials of the Customs, Excise and Preventive Service (CEPS) are being investigated for alleged extortion, fraud, smuggling and abuse of office.
The officials are also being investigated for their alleged involvement in freight forwarding, collection of monies as duty without issuing receipts, illegal detention of vehicles and harassment of clients.
The investigations, being undertaken by the Internal Affairs/Intelligence Unit of the service, followed petitions submitted to the unit since 2009 by CEPS officials, who report their colleagues; informants, individuals, as well as clients of CEPS such as the Agbogbloshie Fadama Onion Sellers, Ghana National Livestock Breeders and the Ghana Traders Association.
Already investigations into 23 cases reported against CEPS officials have been concluded and appropriate sanctions instituted against the affected personnel.
The Internal Affairs/Intelligence Unit was established by CEPS with the assistance of the United States Customs and Border Protection Agency (USCBP) in 2009 to fight corruption, maintain integrity and minimise the risk of revenue leakage and security breaches in the service.
The Commissioner of CEPS, Mr E. Kumah Lanyon, told the Daily Graphic in an interview that in an environment of perceived or real corruption, the establishment of the unit was essential to instilling discipline and ensuring integrity.
He said the good thing so far was the consciousness the unit had created among staff of CEPS that “somebody is watching and, therefore, has to be careful”.
“I can tell you that the awareness alone it had created is significant, as it has brought sanity into the conduct of officers,” he said.
Mr Lanyon said majority of the cases reported had been dealt with, with some personnel facing various forms of punishment.
He said there had been two or three dismissals but majority of those found guilty had received the appropriate sanctions as enshrined in the code of conduct of CEPS including suspensions, warning or refund of money.
Mr Lanyon said the management of CEPS added intelligence functions to the unit so that the service could deal with any emerging issues to prevent them from escalating.
He cited for instance that the intelligence unit could pick up signals of some officers trying to form a syndicate to cheat and, therefore, alert management to take steps to deal with it before the syndicate succeeded.
“This is to say that the unit must always be ahead of the game and advise management appropriately,” he said.
Mr Lanyon said the team at the Internal Affairs/Intelligence Unit had so far not disappointed the management and the staff as even the witnesses or suspects had often applauded them for the impartial manner investigations or complaints were handled.
Story: Albert K. Salia
NINETEEN officials of the Customs, Excise and Preventive Service (CEPS) are being investigated for alleged extortion, fraud, smuggling and abuse of office.
The officials are also being investigated for their alleged involvement in freight forwarding, collection of monies as duty without issuing receipts, illegal detention of vehicles and harassment of clients.
The investigations, being undertaken by the Internal Affairs/Intelligence Unit of the service, followed petitions submitted to the unit since 2009 by CEPS officials, who report their colleagues; informants, individuals, as well as clients of CEPS such as the Agbogbloshie Fadama Onion Sellers, Ghana National Livestock Breeders and the Ghana Traders Association.
Already investigations into 23 cases reported against CEPS officials have been concluded and appropriate sanctions instituted against the affected personnel.
The Internal Affairs/Intelligence Unit was established by CEPS with the assistance of the United States Customs and Border Protection Agency (USCBP) in 2009 to fight corruption, maintain integrity and minimise the risk of revenue leakage and security breaches in the service.
The Commissioner of CEPS, Mr E. Kumah Lanyon, told the Daily Graphic in an interview that in an environment of perceived or real corruption, the establishment of the unit was essential to instilling discipline and ensuring integrity.
He said the good thing so far was the consciousness the unit had created among staff of CEPS that “somebody is watching and, therefore, has to be careful”.
“I can tell you that the awareness alone it had created is significant, as it has brought sanity into the conduct of officers,” he said.
Mr Lanyon said majority of the cases reported had been dealt with, with some personnel facing various forms of punishment.
He said there had been two or three dismissals but majority of those found guilty had received the appropriate sanctions as enshrined in the code of conduct of CEPS including suspensions, warning or refund of money.
Mr Lanyon said the management of CEPS added intelligence functions to the unit so that the service could deal with any emerging issues to prevent them from escalating.
He cited for instance that the intelligence unit could pick up signals of some officers trying to form a syndicate to cheat and, therefore, alert management to take steps to deal with it before the syndicate succeeded.
“This is to say that the unit must always be ahead of the game and advise management appropriately,” he said.
Mr Lanyon said the team at the Internal Affairs/Intelligence Unit had so far not disappointed the management and the staff as even the witnesses or suspects had often applauded them for the impartial manner investigations or complaints were handled.
How far, Mr IGP?
PAGE 19: Daily Graphic, August 25, 2010.
Asks Albert K. Salia
IT IS a little over a year ago when Mr Paul Tawiah Quaye assumed the mantle of leadership of the Ghana Police Service.
At the time of his appointment, it was an incontrovertible fact as published in the May 19, 2009 issue of the Daily Graphic that patronage had become the gateway to progress in the Ghana Police Service. As a result, professional ethics, competence, efficiency and discipline seemed to have completely broken down. Morale was at its lowest ebb.
Besides those internal challenges, the Ghanaian society had to grapple with an increasing spate of armed robbery and other violent crimes which had created so much fear and panic in the system.
The challenges, which confronted Mr Quaye as the new IGP were, indeed, great and many feared that it was going to be business as usual for him. An article in the May 19, 2009 issue of the Daily Graphic had indicated that Mr Quaye could not afford to disappoint the President and the whole personnel of the service who saw him as someone to turn-around the fortunes of the service. Mr Quaye was also advised to guard against being pushed to the gutters by patronage.
The author argued that it was only a principled, disciplinarian, inspirer and fair-minded person who could command the service, particularly at this time when morale was so low and the image of the service had sunk to such disturbing depth.
At his first interaction with officers and men of the Service, Mr Quaye did not mince words as to what his mission was and what he expected from the personnel. He threw his first bombshell with the re-posting of senior personnel to other areas stressing that whatever appointment or changes he made, was in the best interest of the Service and also with the belief that the affected personnel were needed in those areas to enable them bring their strengths to bear on the Service.
Many doubted the effects of the changes but as a very proficient systems analyst with more than 18 years experience in conducting studies and recommending the re-organisation of various units and departments within the service, Mr Quaye’s key objective, as the IGP, was to work and attain the highest levels of efficiency in the Ghana Police Service.
Mr Quaye, who believes in team work, also possesses rich skills in policy formulation and planning for change with in-depth knowledge in research work and identification of organisational weaknesses and defects.
He has the ability to focus on strategic direction of an organisation, with a view to effecting and implementing realistic change management mechanisms which are aimed at meeting self-monitoring, analysis and reporting technology (SMART) objectives.
Despite having all these qualities, many doubted his ability to make any positive changes in the Service, believing that saboteurs within the system and the influence of politicians would not allow him to achieve anything.
But one year on, can one say that he had made any positive impact? Certainly yes. In fact, the IGP is said to be too ambitious and wanting to leave a very good legacy before leaving office. What else should one expect from him?
Indeed, the spate of armed robbery across the country at the time of his appointment was terrible with reported cases almost every day.
In fact, not only has his administration been able to stem the tide, but the way and manner suspects have been arrested even after the offence clearly indicate that he put the right people at the right places to deliver. Without any prejudice, apart from the reward system put in place, the Deputy Accra Regional Police Commander, ACP Christian Tetteh Yohuno would, forever, be engraved in the hearts and minds of many people who have encountered him and the way he dealt with robberies and other crimes.
The ability of the police to establish a trend in robbery cases and the use of particular brand of vehicles being used in robberies alone has been heartwarming and that is worthy of commendation.
It is important to note that some planned armed robberies were also foiled even before the robberies were committed.
The time response of the police to distress calls, particularly violent crime, also reduced and that often resulted in exchange of fire between the police and the robbers.
Another area where the IGP showed great leadership was his decision to suspend the enlistment of personnel until the improvement of residential accommodation for personnel. Before the suspension, there were announcements for recruitment of new personnel but the IGP had to intervene.
Certainly, the Police Administration under the leadership of Mr Quaye has also shown that welfare for personnel was not just limited to accommodation. In fact, cases of interdiction which seemed to have been forgotten, have all been addressed with some of them re-instated, while others have been dismissed.
I believe the team at the Finance Department, headed by DCOP Dr George Dampare, appreciates the essence of motivation and the concern of the IGP to the welfare of personnel. That is why it worked hard to make sure that the Ghana Police Service was the first public institution to be enrolled on the new Single Spine Salary Structure (SSSS).
To address the issue of patronage, the Police Administration has instituted an examination programme for all prospective candidates to the Police College to ensure that selection was based on merit. It is a good move and many Chief Inspectors, who had been ignored previously, are happy while those who expected to benefit through patronage are disappointed.
The launch of the five-year strategic plan and the establishment of marine police unit to address the challenges of the Service and the oil and gas sector, shows the visionary leadership of the IGP who does not want to be overtaken by events. His pledge of organising training/re-training programmes for personnel is being implemented to the letter. Kudos.
So far, so good for the IGP but there are still other areas which he needs to address.
First, he himself has had cause to complain about the arm-chair investigations at the Criminal Investigations Department (CID), which had made many operational personnel highly frustrated. The release of suspects on remand due to the inaction of both CID personnel and prosecutors due to the lackadaisical attitude to work, must be addressed.
This leads me to the issue of the need to strengthen the work force as the CID personnel often complain about overload of work.
The Police Administration must be reminded that the Service is losing some personnel to peacekeeping, retirement and death and, therefore, needs to be replaced.
Asks Albert K. Salia
IT IS a little over a year ago when Mr Paul Tawiah Quaye assumed the mantle of leadership of the Ghana Police Service.
At the time of his appointment, it was an incontrovertible fact as published in the May 19, 2009 issue of the Daily Graphic that patronage had become the gateway to progress in the Ghana Police Service. As a result, professional ethics, competence, efficiency and discipline seemed to have completely broken down. Morale was at its lowest ebb.
Besides those internal challenges, the Ghanaian society had to grapple with an increasing spate of armed robbery and other violent crimes which had created so much fear and panic in the system.
The challenges, which confronted Mr Quaye as the new IGP were, indeed, great and many feared that it was going to be business as usual for him. An article in the May 19, 2009 issue of the Daily Graphic had indicated that Mr Quaye could not afford to disappoint the President and the whole personnel of the service who saw him as someone to turn-around the fortunes of the service. Mr Quaye was also advised to guard against being pushed to the gutters by patronage.
The author argued that it was only a principled, disciplinarian, inspirer and fair-minded person who could command the service, particularly at this time when morale was so low and the image of the service had sunk to such disturbing depth.
At his first interaction with officers and men of the Service, Mr Quaye did not mince words as to what his mission was and what he expected from the personnel. He threw his first bombshell with the re-posting of senior personnel to other areas stressing that whatever appointment or changes he made, was in the best interest of the Service and also with the belief that the affected personnel were needed in those areas to enable them bring their strengths to bear on the Service.
Many doubted the effects of the changes but as a very proficient systems analyst with more than 18 years experience in conducting studies and recommending the re-organisation of various units and departments within the service, Mr Quaye’s key objective, as the IGP, was to work and attain the highest levels of efficiency in the Ghana Police Service.
Mr Quaye, who believes in team work, also possesses rich skills in policy formulation and planning for change with in-depth knowledge in research work and identification of organisational weaknesses and defects.
He has the ability to focus on strategic direction of an organisation, with a view to effecting and implementing realistic change management mechanisms which are aimed at meeting self-monitoring, analysis and reporting technology (SMART) objectives.
Despite having all these qualities, many doubted his ability to make any positive changes in the Service, believing that saboteurs within the system and the influence of politicians would not allow him to achieve anything.
But one year on, can one say that he had made any positive impact? Certainly yes. In fact, the IGP is said to be too ambitious and wanting to leave a very good legacy before leaving office. What else should one expect from him?
Indeed, the spate of armed robbery across the country at the time of his appointment was terrible with reported cases almost every day.
In fact, not only has his administration been able to stem the tide, but the way and manner suspects have been arrested even after the offence clearly indicate that he put the right people at the right places to deliver. Without any prejudice, apart from the reward system put in place, the Deputy Accra Regional Police Commander, ACP Christian Tetteh Yohuno would, forever, be engraved in the hearts and minds of many people who have encountered him and the way he dealt with robberies and other crimes.
The ability of the police to establish a trend in robbery cases and the use of particular brand of vehicles being used in robberies alone has been heartwarming and that is worthy of commendation.
It is important to note that some planned armed robberies were also foiled even before the robberies were committed.
The time response of the police to distress calls, particularly violent crime, also reduced and that often resulted in exchange of fire between the police and the robbers.
Another area where the IGP showed great leadership was his decision to suspend the enlistment of personnel until the improvement of residential accommodation for personnel. Before the suspension, there were announcements for recruitment of new personnel but the IGP had to intervene.
Certainly, the Police Administration under the leadership of Mr Quaye has also shown that welfare for personnel was not just limited to accommodation. In fact, cases of interdiction which seemed to have been forgotten, have all been addressed with some of them re-instated, while others have been dismissed.
I believe the team at the Finance Department, headed by DCOP Dr George Dampare, appreciates the essence of motivation and the concern of the IGP to the welfare of personnel. That is why it worked hard to make sure that the Ghana Police Service was the first public institution to be enrolled on the new Single Spine Salary Structure (SSSS).
To address the issue of patronage, the Police Administration has instituted an examination programme for all prospective candidates to the Police College to ensure that selection was based on merit. It is a good move and many Chief Inspectors, who had been ignored previously, are happy while those who expected to benefit through patronage are disappointed.
The launch of the five-year strategic plan and the establishment of marine police unit to address the challenges of the Service and the oil and gas sector, shows the visionary leadership of the IGP who does not want to be overtaken by events. His pledge of organising training/re-training programmes for personnel is being implemented to the letter. Kudos.
So far, so good for the IGP but there are still other areas which he needs to address.
First, he himself has had cause to complain about the arm-chair investigations at the Criminal Investigations Department (CID), which had made many operational personnel highly frustrated. The release of suspects on remand due to the inaction of both CID personnel and prosecutors due to the lackadaisical attitude to work, must be addressed.
This leads me to the issue of the need to strengthen the work force as the CID personnel often complain about overload of work.
The Police Administration must be reminded that the Service is losing some personnel to peacekeeping, retirement and death and, therefore, needs to be replaced.
Education Service revises disciplinary regulations
Page 11: Daily Graphic, August 23, 2010.
Story: Albert K. Salia
THE Ghana Education Service (GES) is revising its disciplinary regulations to cover proprietors of private schools who misconduct themselves.
This is because the current regulations do not empower the GES to act against proprietors, heads, teaching and non-teaching staff of private schools.
The acting Deputy Director-General of the GES, Mr Stephen Adu who disclosed this said eventhough the Attorney-General’s Department for instance had asked the GES to sanction the proprietor of the Great Lamptey Mills Institute, Mr Enoch Nii Lamptey-Mills, who is facing rape charges, the service was unable to do so.
Mr Adu explained that under the current regulations, the GES could only depend on court decisions to sanction proprietors of schools who misconducted themselves.
He emphasised that the Attorney-General had asked the GES to take the necessary administrative measures to punish Nii Lamptey-Mills.
Unfortunately, he said, “the regulations in place did not cover proprietors and, therefore, the GES could not take any action against Lamptey-Mills.”
Mr Adu said the best the GES could do was to close down the school but explained that the welfare of the children had to be taken into consideration.
He said if the continuous presence of the proprietor was going to be a threat, “we would advise the parents and students appropriately.”
According to him, officials of the GES had been visiting the institute to inspect facilities and deal with other issues at the school.
Mr Adu said the case of Nii Lamptey-Mills was not straight forward and therefore required that the GES pursued it in a more professional manner.
Story: Albert K. Salia
THE Ghana Education Service (GES) is revising its disciplinary regulations to cover proprietors of private schools who misconduct themselves.
This is because the current regulations do not empower the GES to act against proprietors, heads, teaching and non-teaching staff of private schools.
The acting Deputy Director-General of the GES, Mr Stephen Adu who disclosed this said eventhough the Attorney-General’s Department for instance had asked the GES to sanction the proprietor of the Great Lamptey Mills Institute, Mr Enoch Nii Lamptey-Mills, who is facing rape charges, the service was unable to do so.
Mr Adu explained that under the current regulations, the GES could only depend on court decisions to sanction proprietors of schools who misconducted themselves.
He emphasised that the Attorney-General had asked the GES to take the necessary administrative measures to punish Nii Lamptey-Mills.
Unfortunately, he said, “the regulations in place did not cover proprietors and, therefore, the GES could not take any action against Lamptey-Mills.”
Mr Adu said the best the GES could do was to close down the school but explained that the welfare of the children had to be taken into consideration.
He said if the continuous presence of the proprietor was going to be a threat, “we would advise the parents and students appropriately.”
According to him, officials of the GES had been visiting the institute to inspect facilities and deal with other issues at the school.
Mr Adu said the case of Nii Lamptey-Mills was not straight forward and therefore required that the GES pursued it in a more professional manner.
Lamptey-Mills charged for rape
Front Page: Daily Graphic, August 21, 2010.
Story: Albert K. Salia
THE Proprietor of the Great Lamptey-Mills Institute, Enoch Nii Lamptey-Mills, has been rearrested on the orders of the Attorney-General’s Department and charged with rape.
Lamptey-Mills was arrested last Wednesday, August 18, 20100 and placed in police custody, pending the commencement of his trial after his release from the charge of impregnating and forcing a 16-year-old former student of his school to marry him.
A Circuit Court in Accra on October 22, last year, discharged Lamptey-Mills, who had been charged with compulsory marriage.
The Presiding judge, Mrs Georgina Mensah-Datsa, had ruled that the charge levelled against Lamptey-Mills was a misdemeanor, for which the law allowed an out-of-court settlement.
However, the Attorney-General last week said from the caution statement of Lamptey-Mills, the consent given by the girl was under duress and ordered his rearrest.
According to the Attorney-General, Lamptey-Mills stated that he found the girl in a sorry state with no one caring for her and, therefore, offered to assist her.
The Deputy Commander of the Accra Regional Domestic Violence and Victims Support Unit (DOVVSU), Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Eunice Odonkor, said the AG explained that the girl was influenced by the material support offered her by Lamptey-Mills to consent to have sex with him, resulting in the pregnancy.
She said the police, therefore, rearrested Lamptey-Mills last Wednesday and cautioned him, while awaiting the trial date.
She explained that the Attorney-General’s Department would be prosecuting when the trial start.
In September last year, Lamptey Mills was arrested by the police for impregnating and forcing to marry a 16-year-old former student of his and performed the marriage rites, making the victim his wife.
He was held on charges of compulsion marriage of a teenager.
Police sources said one year after the girl gave birth, Mills had failed to keep to his promise of building a house for her, provide for the upkeep of the mother and child, as well as restore the girl, who is now 17, to school.
The Great Lamptey-Mills Institute, formerly Lamptey-Mills Institute, was established on February 4, 1963 by the Late Rev. Abraham Samuel Lamptey-Mills after whom the school was named.
The Junior High School department was later established on September 31, 1994 by the current Director of the school, Enoch Lamptey-Mills.
The Senior High department was also founded in 2005 by the same director.
Story: Albert K. Salia
THE Proprietor of the Great Lamptey-Mills Institute, Enoch Nii Lamptey-Mills, has been rearrested on the orders of the Attorney-General’s Department and charged with rape.
Lamptey-Mills was arrested last Wednesday, August 18, 20100 and placed in police custody, pending the commencement of his trial after his release from the charge of impregnating and forcing a 16-year-old former student of his school to marry him.
A Circuit Court in Accra on October 22, last year, discharged Lamptey-Mills, who had been charged with compulsory marriage.
The Presiding judge, Mrs Georgina Mensah-Datsa, had ruled that the charge levelled against Lamptey-Mills was a misdemeanor, for which the law allowed an out-of-court settlement.
However, the Attorney-General last week said from the caution statement of Lamptey-Mills, the consent given by the girl was under duress and ordered his rearrest.
According to the Attorney-General, Lamptey-Mills stated that he found the girl in a sorry state with no one caring for her and, therefore, offered to assist her.
The Deputy Commander of the Accra Regional Domestic Violence and Victims Support Unit (DOVVSU), Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Eunice Odonkor, said the AG explained that the girl was influenced by the material support offered her by Lamptey-Mills to consent to have sex with him, resulting in the pregnancy.
She said the police, therefore, rearrested Lamptey-Mills last Wednesday and cautioned him, while awaiting the trial date.
She explained that the Attorney-General’s Department would be prosecuting when the trial start.
In September last year, Lamptey Mills was arrested by the police for impregnating and forcing to marry a 16-year-old former student of his and performed the marriage rites, making the victim his wife.
He was held on charges of compulsion marriage of a teenager.
Police sources said one year after the girl gave birth, Mills had failed to keep to his promise of building a house for her, provide for the upkeep of the mother and child, as well as restore the girl, who is now 17, to school.
The Great Lamptey-Mills Institute, formerly Lamptey-Mills Institute, was established on February 4, 1963 by the Late Rev. Abraham Samuel Lamptey-Mills after whom the school was named.
The Junior High School department was later established on September 31, 1994 by the current Director of the school, Enoch Lamptey-Mills.
The Senior High department was also founded in 2005 by the same director.
Shaka Zulu held over robbery
Page 49: Daily Graphic, August 19, 2010.
Story: Albert K. Salia
A 31-YEAR-OLD man, Richard Cobbina, alias Shaka Zulu, has been arrested by the police for alleged robbery.
The suspect, also known as Custodia, was arrested at a popular drinking spot at Adabraka last Monday night after he had been identified by another robbery suspect.
Shaka Zulu allegedly confessed to taking part in robbing some Nigerians on the Spintex Road.
Briefing the Daily Graphic in Accra on Tuesday, the Deputy Accra Regional Police Commander, ACP Christian Tetteh Yohuno, said Shaka Zulu and his accomplices allegedly raided the residence of the Nigerians and robbed them of their laptops and personal effects after a friend of the suspect had complained that the Nigerians had defrauded him.
He said Shaka Zulu and his two friends recruited another person, identified as Wise Grey, alias Biggy, to take part in the robbery.
He said Biggy allegedly provided the weapons for the operation during which they took away five laptops and other personal effects of their victims.
ACP Yohuno said the victims of the robbery mustered courage to pursue the suspected robbers in a car while the robbers were walking.
According to him, the Nigerians tried to hit the suspects with their car but only one of them, identified only as Old School, who was carrying two of the laptops, was hit.
He said Shaka Zulu and the others escaped upon realising that it was the Nigerians pursuing them with the car.
ACP Yohuno said the Nigerian victims then handed over Old School to the Sakumono Police to investigate the matter.
He said Old School was currently on remand at the Nsawam Prisons while the police are searching for the two other suspects, identified as Abass and Stone.
He said intelligence led to the arrest Shaka Zulu last Monday, and he allegedly admitted to taking part in the robbery with the explanation that he took part because he needed money to take care of a lady he had impregnated.
ACP Yohuno said the arrest of Shaka Zulu should motivate Ghanaians to trust the police to deal with perpetrators of crime no matter how long it would take.
Story: Albert K. Salia
A 31-YEAR-OLD man, Richard Cobbina, alias Shaka Zulu, has been arrested by the police for alleged robbery.
The suspect, also known as Custodia, was arrested at a popular drinking spot at Adabraka last Monday night after he had been identified by another robbery suspect.
Shaka Zulu allegedly confessed to taking part in robbing some Nigerians on the Spintex Road.
Briefing the Daily Graphic in Accra on Tuesday, the Deputy Accra Regional Police Commander, ACP Christian Tetteh Yohuno, said Shaka Zulu and his accomplices allegedly raided the residence of the Nigerians and robbed them of their laptops and personal effects after a friend of the suspect had complained that the Nigerians had defrauded him.
He said Shaka Zulu and his two friends recruited another person, identified as Wise Grey, alias Biggy, to take part in the robbery.
He said Biggy allegedly provided the weapons for the operation during which they took away five laptops and other personal effects of their victims.
ACP Yohuno said the victims of the robbery mustered courage to pursue the suspected robbers in a car while the robbers were walking.
According to him, the Nigerians tried to hit the suspects with their car but only one of them, identified only as Old School, who was carrying two of the laptops, was hit.
He said Shaka Zulu and the others escaped upon realising that it was the Nigerians pursuing them with the car.
ACP Yohuno said the Nigerian victims then handed over Old School to the Sakumono Police to investigate the matter.
He said Old School was currently on remand at the Nsawam Prisons while the police are searching for the two other suspects, identified as Abass and Stone.
He said intelligence led to the arrest Shaka Zulu last Monday, and he allegedly admitted to taking part in the robbery with the explanation that he took part because he needed money to take care of a lady he had impregnated.
ACP Yohuno said the arrest of Shaka Zulu should motivate Ghanaians to trust the police to deal with perpetrators of crime no matter how long it would take.
Ensure sustainability of investments - Bagbin
Page 64: Daily Graphic, August 19, 2010.
Story: Albert K. Salia
THE Minister of Water Resources, Works and Housing, Mr Alban S. K. Bagbin, has called on district assemblies and the Community Water and Sanitation Agency (CWSA) to put in place measures to ensure the sustainability of investments made in the water and sanitation sectors in rural communities.
He stressed the need for the efficient and effective use of the facilities, since those investments in the water systems, among other things, would have significant impact on the economy, health and well-being of Ghanaians.
Speaking yesterday to the Daily Graphic on the government’s pledge to provide potable water for Ghanaians, Mr Bagbin said the recent inauguration of water and sanitation projects to serve the needs of 39 communities in the Central and Western regions was a clear testimony of the government’s commitment to complete all on-going projects started by the previous government.
“To safeguard the long term sustainability of all these investments in the water and sanitation sub-sector, there is the need for proper co-ordination and regulation of these projects,” he said.
He reminded district assemblies that the CWSA was expected to provide technical assistance to the Local Government Service and, therefore, urged the assemblies to take advantage of the technical expertise to develop water resources in their districts.
He said it was important that the district assemblies saw the CWSA as partners and build the necessary linkages with it to help provide safe and reliable water, as well as improved sanitation services for Ghanaians. He stressed that “your are not competitors and you don’t need to work at cross purposes”.
Mr Bagbin charged the CWSA to play a leading role towards the sustainability of water and sanitation facilities that had been delivered through various interventions.
He affirmed the government’s commitment to taking all measures to provide water and sanitation systems in all communities in the country.
He said the provision of potable water for Ghanaians constituted one of the growth poles being pursued by the government in collaboration with stakeholders and development partners such as the European Union to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
Mr Bagbin expressed concern about the situation where many communities did not have access to potable water and described the trend as unacceptable.
He, therefore, urged the CWSA and the district assemblies to see it as a challenge to collaborate in a holistic manner to address the problems, especially in the rural areas.
Story: Albert K. Salia
THE Minister of Water Resources, Works and Housing, Mr Alban S. K. Bagbin, has called on district assemblies and the Community Water and Sanitation Agency (CWSA) to put in place measures to ensure the sustainability of investments made in the water and sanitation sectors in rural communities.
He stressed the need for the efficient and effective use of the facilities, since those investments in the water systems, among other things, would have significant impact on the economy, health and well-being of Ghanaians.
Speaking yesterday to the Daily Graphic on the government’s pledge to provide potable water for Ghanaians, Mr Bagbin said the recent inauguration of water and sanitation projects to serve the needs of 39 communities in the Central and Western regions was a clear testimony of the government’s commitment to complete all on-going projects started by the previous government.
“To safeguard the long term sustainability of all these investments in the water and sanitation sub-sector, there is the need for proper co-ordination and regulation of these projects,” he said.
He reminded district assemblies that the CWSA was expected to provide technical assistance to the Local Government Service and, therefore, urged the assemblies to take advantage of the technical expertise to develop water resources in their districts.
He said it was important that the district assemblies saw the CWSA as partners and build the necessary linkages with it to help provide safe and reliable water, as well as improved sanitation services for Ghanaians. He stressed that “your are not competitors and you don’t need to work at cross purposes”.
Mr Bagbin charged the CWSA to play a leading role towards the sustainability of water and sanitation facilities that had been delivered through various interventions.
He affirmed the government’s commitment to taking all measures to provide water and sanitation systems in all communities in the country.
He said the provision of potable water for Ghanaians constituted one of the growth poles being pursued by the government in collaboration with stakeholders and development partners such as the European Union to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
Mr Bagbin expressed concern about the situation where many communities did not have access to potable water and described the trend as unacceptable.
He, therefore, urged the CWSA and the district assemblies to see it as a challenge to collaborate in a holistic manner to address the problems, especially in the rural areas.
Man arrested for stabbing step-daughter
Page 64: Daily Graphic, August 18, 2010.
Story: Albert K. Salia
A 46-YEAR-OLD man, Kwabena Twum, has been arrested for allegedly stabbing the left eye of his step-daughter after the girl resisted attempts to have sex with her.
The suspect allegedly used a broken bottle to perforate the left eye of Mary Osei-Wusu, 22, the step-daughter, on July 15, 2010 and absconded.
Twum was, however, arrested on Monday, August 16, 2010 at the Ashaiman lorry park upon a tip-off.
Briefing the Daily Graphic in Accra today, the Ashaiman Divisional Commander of the Domestic Violence and Victims Support Unit (DOVVSU), Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Christine Yevunoo, said the suspect went into hiding after perpetrating the act when his wife had gone out.
She said the victim, who is currently blind in the left eye as a result, had already undergone the first surgery with the second one expected next month.
“As I speak to you, the victim cannot see with the left eye and the medical report says she is blind in the left eye. It is only after the second surgery that we will know whether she has gone permanently blind in the left eye,” she said.
Story: Albert K. Salia
A 46-YEAR-OLD man, Kwabena Twum, has been arrested for allegedly stabbing the left eye of his step-daughter after the girl resisted attempts to have sex with her.
The suspect allegedly used a broken bottle to perforate the left eye of Mary Osei-Wusu, 22, the step-daughter, on July 15, 2010 and absconded.
Twum was, however, arrested on Monday, August 16, 2010 at the Ashaiman lorry park upon a tip-off.
Briefing the Daily Graphic in Accra today, the Ashaiman Divisional Commander of the Domestic Violence and Victims Support Unit (DOVVSU), Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Christine Yevunoo, said the suspect went into hiding after perpetrating the act when his wife had gone out.
She said the victim, who is currently blind in the left eye as a result, had already undergone the first surgery with the second one expected next month.
“As I speak to you, the victim cannot see with the left eye and the medical report says she is blind in the left eye. It is only after the second surgery that we will know whether she has gone permanently blind in the left eye,” she said.
Police briefed on STX deal
Page 64: Daily Graphic, 18, 2010.
Story: Albert K. Salia
THE Minister of Water Resources, Works and Housing, Mr Alban Bagbin, today began an outreach programme to interact with the top brass of the Ghana Police Service to brief them on the implementation of the STX Housing Project for the security agencies.
Under the project, 30,000 housing units are expected to be constructed for the Police, Military, Ghana Immigration Service, Ghana National Fire Service, Ghana Prisons Service and other agencies with the Ghana Police Service expecting to benefit from 20,000 housing units.
Mr Bagbin is expected to the visit Burma Camp tomorrow.
Currently, 13,854 of the 23,840 police personnel are not accommodated with others being housed in workshops, canteens and other structures.
The Police Administration last year suspended the recruitment of personnel into the service due to the accommodation crisis facing the service.
Speaking at the forum with the leadership of the Ghana Police Service, Mr Bagbin said the essence of the interactions was to open up to all those who were going to benefit from the project to enable them to appreciate what was to come their way.
He, therefore, called for the co-operation and support of all stakeholders including chiefs and district assemblies to ensure the smooth take-off of the project next month when the sod was expected to be cut for construction work to begin.
He said the vision of the government was to ensure that no individual spent more than 30 per cent of his or her income on accommodation whether rental or owner-occupier system.
Mr Bagbin, whose presentation was met with applause from the personnel present, said Ghana’s housing deficit currently stood at more than one million with an annual delivery of only 40,000 of the 140,000 being provided.
He described the STX Housing Project as the largest and single most ambitious project and said it was an all-inclusive project with members of the minority in parliament forming part of delegations to discuss and review the deal with STX Korea.
He said the project would also lead to the establishment of major cement, steel and power plants in Ghana, which would create more than 40,000 jobs.
Mr Bagbin said the project, which would also bring about technology transfer, would be a launch pad for an integrated building and construction industry in Ghana.
The Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Mr Paul Tawiah Quaye, said the interest of the police in the project was evidenced by the presence of police personnel during the debate on the approval of the deal in Parliament.
He said the ambition of the Police Administration was to increase the strength of the personnel to 40,000 by 2014 and bring the police-civilian ratio closer to the United Nations approved ratio of 1:500.
He stressed that “with this project, there is the need for a corresponding increase in accommodation facilities to house the additional personnel”.
Mr Quaye enumerated some of the challenges to be encountered during the project as land acquisition, resettlement of displaced personnel and the ejection of squatters on police lands but pledged the support and commitment of the Police Administration to the successful completion of the project.
The Deputy Minister of the Interior, Dr Kwasi Apea-Kubi, said the problem of accommodation for all the security services required a holistic approach to resolve the crisis.
Story: Albert K. Salia
THE Minister of Water Resources, Works and Housing, Mr Alban Bagbin, today began an outreach programme to interact with the top brass of the Ghana Police Service to brief them on the implementation of the STX Housing Project for the security agencies.
Under the project, 30,000 housing units are expected to be constructed for the Police, Military, Ghana Immigration Service, Ghana National Fire Service, Ghana Prisons Service and other agencies with the Ghana Police Service expecting to benefit from 20,000 housing units.
Mr Bagbin is expected to the visit Burma Camp tomorrow.
Currently, 13,854 of the 23,840 police personnel are not accommodated with others being housed in workshops, canteens and other structures.
The Police Administration last year suspended the recruitment of personnel into the service due to the accommodation crisis facing the service.
Speaking at the forum with the leadership of the Ghana Police Service, Mr Bagbin said the essence of the interactions was to open up to all those who were going to benefit from the project to enable them to appreciate what was to come their way.
He, therefore, called for the co-operation and support of all stakeholders including chiefs and district assemblies to ensure the smooth take-off of the project next month when the sod was expected to be cut for construction work to begin.
He said the vision of the government was to ensure that no individual spent more than 30 per cent of his or her income on accommodation whether rental or owner-occupier system.
Mr Bagbin, whose presentation was met with applause from the personnel present, said Ghana’s housing deficit currently stood at more than one million with an annual delivery of only 40,000 of the 140,000 being provided.
He described the STX Housing Project as the largest and single most ambitious project and said it was an all-inclusive project with members of the minority in parliament forming part of delegations to discuss and review the deal with STX Korea.
He said the project would also lead to the establishment of major cement, steel and power plants in Ghana, which would create more than 40,000 jobs.
Mr Bagbin said the project, which would also bring about technology transfer, would be a launch pad for an integrated building and construction industry in Ghana.
The Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Mr Paul Tawiah Quaye, said the interest of the police in the project was evidenced by the presence of police personnel during the debate on the approval of the deal in Parliament.
He said the ambition of the Police Administration was to increase the strength of the personnel to 40,000 by 2014 and bring the police-civilian ratio closer to the United Nations approved ratio of 1:500.
He stressed that “with this project, there is the need for a corresponding increase in accommodation facilities to house the additional personnel”.
Mr Quaye enumerated some of the challenges to be encountered during the project as land acquisition, resettlement of displaced personnel and the ejection of squatters on police lands but pledged the support and commitment of the Police Administration to the successful completion of the project.
The Deputy Minister of the Interior, Dr Kwasi Apea-Kubi, said the problem of accommodation for all the security services required a holistic approach to resolve the crisis.
Liaise with police to set up more tent cities
Page 67: Daily Graphic, August 16, 2010.
Story: Albert K. Salia
THE Ghana Police Service has appealed to residents of sprawling communities without police stations to co-operate with the police for the establishment of tent cities in their localities to fight armed robbery and residential crimes in those areas.
An initiative of the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Mr Paul Tawiah Quaye, the tent cities are to serve as a first point of call by residents to relay information on suspected criminal activities or suspicious characters in those areas.
Each of the tent cities will be provided with a telephone number to serve the communities and reduce time of response to distress calls.
Since its establishment last year, the number of tent cities has increased from the initial four to nine in the Accra-Tema police regions.
The Director of Public Affairs of the Ghana Police Service, Superintendent Kwesi Ofori, told the Daily Graphic yesterday that the IGP had revised the operations of the tent cities project, with each tent city placed under an operational force of the police.
Hitherto, he said, personnel were randomly selected and posted to the tent cities, but it was detected that it was creating problems, especially with the change over of personnel and logistics.
Supt Ofori said the IGP had placed 10 vehicles at the disposal of the existing tent cities to enhance their operations,
while the personnel were now receiving ration while on duty, which was not the case when the project started last year.
He, however, said a major challenge facing the establishment of the tent cities was the non-co-operation of some residents.
He said conditions in the tent cities were not the best, as personnel had to struggle to answer the call of nature and encountered problems in trying to seek information on security problems in those communities from residents.
He said there were some communities, particularly the EMEFS and Regimannuel estates, who had co-operated so well with the police that the tent city project was working effectively in those areas.
Supt Ofori said since the establishment of the tent city at Emefs Estate, for instance, robberies and thefts in the area had stopped.
He said besides the estate developer moving the tent city team into a building, the residents had also appointed co-ordinators for various zones to co-ordinate reports with the police team.
He said other areas where the tent cities were currently located were REDCO Flats, Dome, Taifa-Burkina, Roman Ridge, Achimota Golf Park, West and East Legon, Manet Court and Dzorwulu.
The Director of Public Affairs said supervisors had also been appointed to monitor the activities of personnel on duty to ensure that they performed the duties assigned them.
He said the IGP was determined to bring policing to the doorstep of Ghanaians and, therefore, appealed for public support to ensure that the project succeeded.
Supt. Ofori urged the communities in which the tent cities would be sited to co-operate with the personnel and not see their presence as intimidatory, adding, “We are targeting criminals and not innocent people.”
He said as part of their duties, the personnel would be available to provide security talks for churches and schools in the vicinities in which they were located.
He said those on the specialised day patrols would be visiting homes and workplaces to interact with those they met to discuss their security concerns.
Story: Albert K. Salia
THE Ghana Police Service has appealed to residents of sprawling communities without police stations to co-operate with the police for the establishment of tent cities in their localities to fight armed robbery and residential crimes in those areas.
An initiative of the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Mr Paul Tawiah Quaye, the tent cities are to serve as a first point of call by residents to relay information on suspected criminal activities or suspicious characters in those areas.
Each of the tent cities will be provided with a telephone number to serve the communities and reduce time of response to distress calls.
Since its establishment last year, the number of tent cities has increased from the initial four to nine in the Accra-Tema police regions.
The Director of Public Affairs of the Ghana Police Service, Superintendent Kwesi Ofori, told the Daily Graphic yesterday that the IGP had revised the operations of the tent cities project, with each tent city placed under an operational force of the police.
Hitherto, he said, personnel were randomly selected and posted to the tent cities, but it was detected that it was creating problems, especially with the change over of personnel and logistics.
Supt Ofori said the IGP had placed 10 vehicles at the disposal of the existing tent cities to enhance their operations,
while the personnel were now receiving ration while on duty, which was not the case when the project started last year.
He, however, said a major challenge facing the establishment of the tent cities was the non-co-operation of some residents.
He said conditions in the tent cities were not the best, as personnel had to struggle to answer the call of nature and encountered problems in trying to seek information on security problems in those communities from residents.
He said there were some communities, particularly the EMEFS and Regimannuel estates, who had co-operated so well with the police that the tent city project was working effectively in those areas.
Supt Ofori said since the establishment of the tent city at Emefs Estate, for instance, robberies and thefts in the area had stopped.
He said besides the estate developer moving the tent city team into a building, the residents had also appointed co-ordinators for various zones to co-ordinate reports with the police team.
He said other areas where the tent cities were currently located were REDCO Flats, Dome, Taifa-Burkina, Roman Ridge, Achimota Golf Park, West and East Legon, Manet Court and Dzorwulu.
The Director of Public Affairs said supervisors had also been appointed to monitor the activities of personnel on duty to ensure that they performed the duties assigned them.
He said the IGP was determined to bring policing to the doorstep of Ghanaians and, therefore, appealed for public support to ensure that the project succeeded.
Supt. Ofori urged the communities in which the tent cities would be sited to co-operate with the personnel and not see their presence as intimidatory, adding, “We are targeting criminals and not innocent people.”
He said as part of their duties, the personnel would be available to provide security talks for churches and schools in the vicinities in which they were located.
He said those on the specialised day patrols would be visiting homes and workplaces to interact with those they met to discuss their security concerns.
Thursday, June 3, 2010
Police strengthen recruitment procedures
Page 46: Daily Graphic, June 3, 2010.
Story: Albert K. Salia
Police strengthen recruitment procedures
THE Police Administration has strengthened safeguards in its recruitment procedures to prevent miscreants from being enlisted into the Ghana Police Service.
In line with that, persons seeking recruitment into the service will have to go through more rigorous physical, background and certificate checks before they are recruited.
According to the Police Administration, no one will be exempted from the selection criteria and those who do not measure up to the new requirements will not be entertained.
The Police Administration has fixed the latter part of June or early July, this year for the next recruitment exercise by which time a number of ongoing accommodation projects would have been handed over to the service.
The Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Mr Paul Tawiah Quaye, told the Daily Graphic that recruitment into the service would be handled in a manner that would make it impossible for miscreants or persons without the calling to join the Ghana Police Service.
He said the Police Administration had set a criteria for subsequent recruitment into the service and anyone who did not meet the requirements would not be recruited.
“This is what we term positive purging. We will check every information provided, the references, verification of certificates and qualifications, among others,” he said.
Mr Quaye said the Police Administration was already having problems with some persons on protocol enlistment or those recommended by persons in positions of trust.
He said if it was found that an applicant lied while providing information, that person’s name would be deleted from the list and also would be liable for prosecution.
He added that there would be no wholesale passing out as was the case in the past.
According to him, the attitude, character, comportment and performance of trainees would be assessed and anyone who fell short of any of the training requirements would be sent home.
Mr Quaye said the new training regime required that any trainee who was repeated once would not be allowed to be repeat for the second time while an outright failure would warrant dismissal.
“We want to ensure that those who pass-out are those who deserve to wear the uniform,” he said.
The IGP said the curriculum for police training was being revised, and instructors would also have to meet the requisite capabilities of instructors.
Mr Quaye said after trainees had also passed out, he or she would be under probation for one year during which they would be monitored and observed.
“If the reports from the supervisors are favourable, the Police Administration will then endorse or confirm the enlistment into the service,” he added.
Story: Albert K. Salia
Police strengthen recruitment procedures
THE Police Administration has strengthened safeguards in its recruitment procedures to prevent miscreants from being enlisted into the Ghana Police Service.
In line with that, persons seeking recruitment into the service will have to go through more rigorous physical, background and certificate checks before they are recruited.
According to the Police Administration, no one will be exempted from the selection criteria and those who do not measure up to the new requirements will not be entertained.
The Police Administration has fixed the latter part of June or early July, this year for the next recruitment exercise by which time a number of ongoing accommodation projects would have been handed over to the service.
The Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Mr Paul Tawiah Quaye, told the Daily Graphic that recruitment into the service would be handled in a manner that would make it impossible for miscreants or persons without the calling to join the Ghana Police Service.
He said the Police Administration had set a criteria for subsequent recruitment into the service and anyone who did not meet the requirements would not be recruited.
“This is what we term positive purging. We will check every information provided, the references, verification of certificates and qualifications, among others,” he said.
Mr Quaye said the Police Administration was already having problems with some persons on protocol enlistment or those recommended by persons in positions of trust.
He said if it was found that an applicant lied while providing information, that person’s name would be deleted from the list and also would be liable for prosecution.
He added that there would be no wholesale passing out as was the case in the past.
According to him, the attitude, character, comportment and performance of trainees would be assessed and anyone who fell short of any of the training requirements would be sent home.
Mr Quaye said the new training regime required that any trainee who was repeated once would not be allowed to be repeat for the second time while an outright failure would warrant dismissal.
“We want to ensure that those who pass-out are those who deserve to wear the uniform,” he said.
The IGP said the curriculum for police training was being revised, and instructors would also have to meet the requisite capabilities of instructors.
Mr Quaye said after trainees had also passed out, he or she would be under probation for one year during which they would be monitored and observed.
“If the reports from the supervisors are favourable, the Police Administration will then endorse or confirm the enlistment into the service,” he added.
Monday, May 24, 2010
CID overwhelmed by cases
Page 59: Daily Graphic, May 24, 2010.
Story: Albert K. Salia
THE Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service is overwhelmed by the number of cases reported to it.
Out of a total of 243,769 cases reported to the CID last year, more than 187,933 of them are still under investigations.
The inability of the CID to deal with the numerous cases had been attributed to the neglect in terms of training of its personnel to update their investigative skills.
Personnel of the CID had since late year started a retraining programme to sharpen their investigative skills.
The figure 243,769 represents a 1.6 per cent increase in the 239,823 cases reported in 2008.
Out of the cases reported in 2009, 8,322 were rejected for investigations while 16,462 cases were closed.
Crime statistics contained in the CID’s 2009 annual report indicated that 31,052 of the reported cases were sent to court resulting in 10,352 convictions, 1,115 acquitals while 19,585 cases were still awaiting trial.
The statistics indicated that assault cases topped the list of reported cases; stealing 89,407; threatening, 61,711; fraud, 24,959; causing damage, 18,906; causing harm, 10,944; defilement, 3,368; robbery,1,373; unlawful entry, 1387 and rape 447 cases.
Touching on major offences, the statistics indicated that there was a general decline in narcotic offences for 2009 as compared to 2008 with 679 cases in 2009 as against 714 cases in 2008 representing a decline of 4.9 per cent.
The number of murder cases for 2009 declined from 430 in 2008 to as 427 2008, rape from 485 in 2008 to 447 in 2009; defilement 1,675 to 1,604 in 2009 with robbery registering 1,373 in 2009 as against 1449 in 2008.
Among its achievements, the CID mentioned the arrest of five soldiers who kidnapped the Managing Director of Intercontinental Bank, suspects who killed a pastor, a gang who usually trailed and robbed immigrants at the Kotoka International Airport, the arrest of fugitive Mathew Allen Osei and a French national, who tried to export pornographic materials of Ghanaian women and children.
Story: Albert K. Salia
THE Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service is overwhelmed by the number of cases reported to it.
Out of a total of 243,769 cases reported to the CID last year, more than 187,933 of them are still under investigations.
The inability of the CID to deal with the numerous cases had been attributed to the neglect in terms of training of its personnel to update their investigative skills.
Personnel of the CID had since late year started a retraining programme to sharpen their investigative skills.
The figure 243,769 represents a 1.6 per cent increase in the 239,823 cases reported in 2008.
Out of the cases reported in 2009, 8,322 were rejected for investigations while 16,462 cases were closed.
Crime statistics contained in the CID’s 2009 annual report indicated that 31,052 of the reported cases were sent to court resulting in 10,352 convictions, 1,115 acquitals while 19,585 cases were still awaiting trial.
The statistics indicated that assault cases topped the list of reported cases; stealing 89,407; threatening, 61,711; fraud, 24,959; causing damage, 18,906; causing harm, 10,944; defilement, 3,368; robbery,1,373; unlawful entry, 1387 and rape 447 cases.
Touching on major offences, the statistics indicated that there was a general decline in narcotic offences for 2009 as compared to 2008 with 679 cases in 2009 as against 714 cases in 2008 representing a decline of 4.9 per cent.
The number of murder cases for 2009 declined from 430 in 2008 to as 427 2008, rape from 485 in 2008 to 447 in 2009; defilement 1,675 to 1,604 in 2009 with robbery registering 1,373 in 2009 as against 1449 in 2008.
Among its achievements, the CID mentioned the arrest of five soldiers who kidnapped the Managing Director of Intercontinental Bank, suspects who killed a pastor, a gang who usually trailed and robbed immigrants at the Kotoka International Airport, the arrest of fugitive Mathew Allen Osei and a French national, who tried to export pornographic materials of Ghanaian women and children.
Ex-convict nabbed for stealing
Page 59: Daily Graphic, May 24, 2010.
Story: Albert K. Salia
A NIGERIAN, who was released from the Ivorian prison on May 3, this year, has been arrested in Accra for breaking into three cars.
Ben Okosisi, who had in his possession, his release documents from the Ivorian authorities, had on May 11, 2010, broken into a car at Takoradi and made away with personal effects and GH¢600 belonging to his victim.
The suspect then relocated to Accra where at about 10pm on May 13, 2010, broke into two cars at the Kotoka International Airport (KIA).
He was, however, arrested at about the same time on May 14, 2010 when he went back to the KIA to rob again.
The Accra Regional Crime Officer, Superintendent Frank Adu-Fati told newsmen in Accra today when the suspect was arrested on May 14, 2010, the key to a named hotel was found him.
He said the police, therefore, took him to the hotel for a search in the room.
According to him, a number of items including pen drives, documents and personal effects were found in the suspect’s bag.
Supt. Adu-Fati said an Electricity Company of Ghana form and a personal loan application form with an address in Takoradi was retrieved from him.
He said when the police called the contact number on the form, the owner claimed his car was broken into on May 11, 2010 at about 7pm in Takoradi and the items including a Motorola wireless radio, were stolen.
Supt. Adu-Fati said the suspect allegedly claimed he used a sharp object to open the cars.
He said the suspect’s release form from the Ivorian prison authorities, which was also retrieved from him, indicated that Okosisi served 24 months in prison for causing harm to someone he fought with.
Story: Albert K. Salia
A NIGERIAN, who was released from the Ivorian prison on May 3, this year, has been arrested in Accra for breaking into three cars.
Ben Okosisi, who had in his possession, his release documents from the Ivorian authorities, had on May 11, 2010, broken into a car at Takoradi and made away with personal effects and GH¢600 belonging to his victim.
The suspect then relocated to Accra where at about 10pm on May 13, 2010, broke into two cars at the Kotoka International Airport (KIA).
He was, however, arrested at about the same time on May 14, 2010 when he went back to the KIA to rob again.
The Accra Regional Crime Officer, Superintendent Frank Adu-Fati told newsmen in Accra today when the suspect was arrested on May 14, 2010, the key to a named hotel was found him.
He said the police, therefore, took him to the hotel for a search in the room.
According to him, a number of items including pen drives, documents and personal effects were found in the suspect’s bag.
Supt. Adu-Fati said an Electricity Company of Ghana form and a personal loan application form with an address in Takoradi was retrieved from him.
He said when the police called the contact number on the form, the owner claimed his car was broken into on May 11, 2010 at about 7pm in Takoradi and the items including a Motorola wireless radio, were stolen.
Supt. Adu-Fati said the suspect allegedly claimed he used a sharp object to open the cars.
He said the suspect’s release form from the Ivorian prison authorities, which was also retrieved from him, indicated that Okosisi served 24 months in prison for causing harm to someone he fought with.
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Ultimatum to Novotel traders
Front Page: Daily Graphic, May 22, 2010.
Story: Albert K. Salia
THE Greater Accra Regional Co-ordinating Council (RCC) and the Accra Metropolitan Authority (AMA) have resolved that all traders at the Novotel Trading Park should relocate to the Pedestrian Mall at Odawna by Sunday.
The resolution was arrived at after an emergency RCC meeting yesterday to review the decision of the AMA to move the traders to the pedestrian mall.
The RCC had, in a letter dated May 5, 2010 and signed by its Chief Director, Mr F.T. Nartey, directed the AMA “to put on hold any movement of the traders from Novotel area to Odawna” until the RCC was convinced that the situation on the ground was conducive for the traders to move in.
Speaking to the Daily Graphic after the joint meeting, the Greater Accra Regional Minister, Nii Armah Ashitey, said although some minor works needed to be done, the RCC had directed the AMA to complete them latest by today to facilitate the movement of the traders.
He said some of the works included the completion of the fence wall, access for rain water to pass into the main drains and compacting the ground.
The regional minister said the AMA was also asked to move in swiftly to settle the differences among the traders and prevent their ranks from being split along political lines.
Nii Ashitey said the AMA was also tasked to set up a management team to supervise the allocation of stalls and the movement of the traders to avoid further confusion.
According to him, some of the leaders of the traders had been accused of collecting money from the traders before allocating them stalls, saying that was not in the scheme of things for the resettlement.
The movement of the Novotel traders had generated tension between the traders and the AMA and also created a wedge between the RCC and the AMA, as the assembly felt the RCC was interfering in its work.
In the heat of the confusion, claims of ownership of the park plunged the matter into further controversy, with two other organisations claiming ownership of the land, as the authorities of the Kinbu Senior High/Technical School and representatives of a company, Dream Reality Limited, which claims to have acquired the property from the Accra City Management Company (ACMC), also entered the fray.
Yesterday’s meeting did not, however, discuss the issue of the ownership of the land, as that is to be handled at another level.
Story: Albert K. Salia
THE Greater Accra Regional Co-ordinating Council (RCC) and the Accra Metropolitan Authority (AMA) have resolved that all traders at the Novotel Trading Park should relocate to the Pedestrian Mall at Odawna by Sunday.
The resolution was arrived at after an emergency RCC meeting yesterday to review the decision of the AMA to move the traders to the pedestrian mall.
The RCC had, in a letter dated May 5, 2010 and signed by its Chief Director, Mr F.T. Nartey, directed the AMA “to put on hold any movement of the traders from Novotel area to Odawna” until the RCC was convinced that the situation on the ground was conducive for the traders to move in.
Speaking to the Daily Graphic after the joint meeting, the Greater Accra Regional Minister, Nii Armah Ashitey, said although some minor works needed to be done, the RCC had directed the AMA to complete them latest by today to facilitate the movement of the traders.
He said some of the works included the completion of the fence wall, access for rain water to pass into the main drains and compacting the ground.
The regional minister said the AMA was also asked to move in swiftly to settle the differences among the traders and prevent their ranks from being split along political lines.
Nii Ashitey said the AMA was also tasked to set up a management team to supervise the allocation of stalls and the movement of the traders to avoid further confusion.
According to him, some of the leaders of the traders had been accused of collecting money from the traders before allocating them stalls, saying that was not in the scheme of things for the resettlement.
The movement of the Novotel traders had generated tension between the traders and the AMA and also created a wedge between the RCC and the AMA, as the assembly felt the RCC was interfering in its work.
In the heat of the confusion, claims of ownership of the park plunged the matter into further controversy, with two other organisations claiming ownership of the land, as the authorities of the Kinbu Senior High/Technical School and representatives of a company, Dream Reality Limited, which claims to have acquired the property from the Accra City Management Company (ACMC), also entered the fray.
Yesterday’s meeting did not, however, discuss the issue of the ownership of the land, as that is to be handled at another level.
$1.9 Billion road map to transform Police Service
Front Page: Daily Graphic, May 20, 2010.
Story: Albert K. Salia & Timothy Gobah
THE Vice-President, Mr John Mahama, yesterday launched a $1.9 billion five-year Strategic National Policing Plan for the transformation and modernisation of the Ghana Police Service.
Emoluments and other incentives will require an additional $1 billion.
Under the road map strategic policy document, 16,000 additional personnel are to be recruited by 2014 to bring the total police strength to 40,000.
Four new police training schools are also to be established in the Upper West, Brong Ahafo, Western and Northern regions, while housing will be provided for 31,000 personnel of the service by 2014.
Although the Police Service requires 5,926 vehicles to enhance its operations, it currently has 1,512 and the plan will seek to address the challenges.
At the launch, which attracted retired Inspectors-General of Police, retired commissioners and members of the Diplomatic Corps, Mr Mahama called on all stakeholders to contribute financially and materially to the attainment of the goals of the plan.
He said the government had already started with the implementation of the 2010-2014 strategic plan with the provision of funds for the completion of all ongoing or abandoned police projects across the country, while work was ongoing on the new Forensic and Ballistic Laboratory.
He said equipment, in the form of communication gadgets and vehicles, was being provided by the government.
The Vice-President said the Police Service was re-engineering itself through effective strategic planning in order to re-define its strategies to be consistent with international standards for it to continue to be relevant and respected both nationally and internationally.
He commended the police and the other security agencies for the work they had been doing to keep the country peaceful and secure, in spite of the numerous challenges they faced.
He, however, expressed regret that a few bad nuts continued to receive infamous mention in the media for one misdemeanour or another, casting a blemish on the sterling performance of the majority.
The Inspector-General of Police, Mr Paul Tawiah Quaye, noted that the strategic plan, which was a revised version of the old one, would be completely executed.
He said the financial resources needed for the implementation of the plan were beyond the government’s normal budgetary allocation.
He said the Police Administration would unveil each of the project-specific packages under the plan and conduct a fund-raising event to mobilise funds for their implementation.
The plan represents the second formal attempt by the Ghana Police Service to fulfil the combined specification of the strategic objectives, national policing targets and capacity-building programmes and activities to be implemented over the medium term of five years and beyond to 2020.
The purpose of the plan is to enable the service to focus on democratic policing practices, as mandated by the Constitution, in serving the communities and the people, first by reviewing prevailing socio-economic conditions, stakeholders’ expectations, other environmental factors, as well as the strengths and weaknesses of the service.
Story: Albert K. Salia & Timothy Gobah
THE Vice-President, Mr John Mahama, yesterday launched a $1.9 billion five-year Strategic National Policing Plan for the transformation and modernisation of the Ghana Police Service.
Emoluments and other incentives will require an additional $1 billion.
Under the road map strategic policy document, 16,000 additional personnel are to be recruited by 2014 to bring the total police strength to 40,000.
Four new police training schools are also to be established in the Upper West, Brong Ahafo, Western and Northern regions, while housing will be provided for 31,000 personnel of the service by 2014.
Although the Police Service requires 5,926 vehicles to enhance its operations, it currently has 1,512 and the plan will seek to address the challenges.
At the launch, which attracted retired Inspectors-General of Police, retired commissioners and members of the Diplomatic Corps, Mr Mahama called on all stakeholders to contribute financially and materially to the attainment of the goals of the plan.
He said the government had already started with the implementation of the 2010-2014 strategic plan with the provision of funds for the completion of all ongoing or abandoned police projects across the country, while work was ongoing on the new Forensic and Ballistic Laboratory.
He said equipment, in the form of communication gadgets and vehicles, was being provided by the government.
The Vice-President said the Police Service was re-engineering itself through effective strategic planning in order to re-define its strategies to be consistent with international standards for it to continue to be relevant and respected both nationally and internationally.
He commended the police and the other security agencies for the work they had been doing to keep the country peaceful and secure, in spite of the numerous challenges they faced.
He, however, expressed regret that a few bad nuts continued to receive infamous mention in the media for one misdemeanour or another, casting a blemish on the sterling performance of the majority.
The Inspector-General of Police, Mr Paul Tawiah Quaye, noted that the strategic plan, which was a revised version of the old one, would be completely executed.
He said the financial resources needed for the implementation of the plan were beyond the government’s normal budgetary allocation.
He said the Police Administration would unveil each of the project-specific packages under the plan and conduct a fund-raising event to mobilise funds for their implementation.
The plan represents the second formal attempt by the Ghana Police Service to fulfil the combined specification of the strategic objectives, national policing targets and capacity-building programmes and activities to be implemented over the medium term of five years and beyond to 2020.
The purpose of the plan is to enable the service to focus on democratic policing practices, as mandated by the Constitution, in serving the communities and the people, first by reviewing prevailing socio-economic conditions, stakeholders’ expectations, other environmental factors, as well as the strengths and weaknesses of the service.
Korle-Bu to conduct DNA tests from May 24
CID overwhelmed by cases
Page 51: Daily Graphic, Nay 20, 2010.
Story: Albert K. Salia
THE Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital will, from Monday, May 24, 2010, begin conducting human identification (DNA) tests.
That will make Ghana the second country after South Africa to have the capacity to carry out DNA tests on the continent.
The €178,000 molecular biology laboratory for the DNA chromosomal analysis will be manned by one of only two Ghanaian qualified and licensed biomedical scientists, Mr Augustine E. Sagoe.
The other Ghanaian is in South Africa, where he has been practising since he was licensed six years ago.
Even before it starts operations, the Korle-Bu DNA Paternity Centre, which is located in the Central Medical Laboratory building, has received more than 112 cases from the courts, individuals and medical practitioners.
The operation of the centre is seen as a major boost to making the nation’s premier hospital a one-stop health centre for the handling of all complicated cases.
Mr Sagoe told the Daily Graphic that the centre had also been registered and accepted internationally to make its findings acceptable to all institutions in the world.
He said it would also be used for DNA shuffling and library construction for criminal record keeping purposes and also to trace the genealogy of persons seven generations back.
He said the facility would make it easier to determine the history of medical conditions as to whether they ran through families or were by accident.
Throwing more light on the facility, Mr Sagoe said a survey he conducted at the courts in 2004 showed that there were a number of unresolved cases because DNA tests needed to be conducted to confirm certain findings before judgements could be given were not available.
Some of those cases, he said, involved rape and family issues.
According to him, the facility had been inundated with a large number of requests since the news broke last year that the hospital was to start running DNA services.
He said the analyser would also be of immense benefit to parents with hermaphrodite children to determine the dominant sex while they were young, since surgery would make it possible for such children to grow up to become ‘normal’ adults.
Mr Sagoe explained that the hospital had to add an equipment called Real Timer Polymerise Chain Reactor (PCR), a new technology used to amplify and simultaneously quantify a targeted DNA molecule, explaining that its late arrival had delayed the installation process.
He, however, said all was now set for the commencement of work at the centre.
The Daily Graphic, in its August 26, 2009 edition, broke the news of the setting up of a DNA Paternity Centre at the nation’s premier hospital.
Page 51: Daily Graphic, Nay 20, 2010.
Story: Albert K. Salia
THE Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital will, from Monday, May 24, 2010, begin conducting human identification (DNA) tests.
That will make Ghana the second country after South Africa to have the capacity to carry out DNA tests on the continent.
The €178,000 molecular biology laboratory for the DNA chromosomal analysis will be manned by one of only two Ghanaian qualified and licensed biomedical scientists, Mr Augustine E. Sagoe.
The other Ghanaian is in South Africa, where he has been practising since he was licensed six years ago.
Even before it starts operations, the Korle-Bu DNA Paternity Centre, which is located in the Central Medical Laboratory building, has received more than 112 cases from the courts, individuals and medical practitioners.
The operation of the centre is seen as a major boost to making the nation’s premier hospital a one-stop health centre for the handling of all complicated cases.
Mr Sagoe told the Daily Graphic that the centre had also been registered and accepted internationally to make its findings acceptable to all institutions in the world.
He said it would also be used for DNA shuffling and library construction for criminal record keeping purposes and also to trace the genealogy of persons seven generations back.
He said the facility would make it easier to determine the history of medical conditions as to whether they ran through families or were by accident.
Throwing more light on the facility, Mr Sagoe said a survey he conducted at the courts in 2004 showed that there were a number of unresolved cases because DNA tests needed to be conducted to confirm certain findings before judgements could be given were not available.
Some of those cases, he said, involved rape and family issues.
According to him, the facility had been inundated with a large number of requests since the news broke last year that the hospital was to start running DNA services.
He said the analyser would also be of immense benefit to parents with hermaphrodite children to determine the dominant sex while they were young, since surgery would make it possible for such children to grow up to become ‘normal’ adults.
Mr Sagoe explained that the hospital had to add an equipment called Real Timer Polymerise Chain Reactor (PCR), a new technology used to amplify and simultaneously quantify a targeted DNA molecule, explaining that its late arrival had delayed the installation process.
He, however, said all was now set for the commencement of work at the centre.
The Daily Graphic, in its August 26, 2009 edition, broke the news of the setting up of a DNA Paternity Centre at the nation’s premier hospital.
GPRTU, AMA meeting ends in stalemate
Page 29: Daily Graphic, May 19, 2010.
Story: Albert K. Salia
A MEETING yesterday to help resolve the rumpus between the Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU) and the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) over the implementation of the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) was called off after officials of the GPRTU failed to submit their documented concerns.
The Greater Accra Regional Minister, Nii Armah Ashitey, who called the meeting, had asked the GPRTU to submit its concerns on paper as a working document to facilitate the resolution of the impasse.
He urged the GPRTU to also suggest solutions on how to improve the project.
“I believe that we want to work with documents so that we will all be clear in our minds about the issues being dealt with,” he added.
Nii Ashitey expressed the hope that at the next meeting, all the chief executives of the various assemblies involved in the implementation of the project would be present.
The Department of Urban Roads (DUR) is seeking to modernise and streamline Accra’s public transportation system with the introduction of the BRT.
But the GPRTU is opposed to it because it contends that the project will keep most of its members out of job.
According to the AMA, the BRT system would involve comfortable and large buses, fixed transportation routes with designated stops, sheltered stations and all day and night service.
Passengers would have to pay their fares prior to boarding the bus through a formalised fare collection system, instead of to the bus conductors directly, and drivers would have to register as legal entities.
It is anticipated that the BRT buses will reduce congestion and air pollution because they will be able to service more commuters and will not have to wait to be filled before leaving each stop, since the drivers will be paid a fixed amount, instead of having their earnings depending on the number of passengers they carry.
The proposed BRT system, which will be implemented by the DUR, with the support of the Urban Transport Project, is jointly funded by the Government of Ghana, the World Bank, the French Agency for Development and the Global Environmental Trust Fund.
Story: Albert K. Salia
A MEETING yesterday to help resolve the rumpus between the Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU) and the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) over the implementation of the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) was called off after officials of the GPRTU failed to submit their documented concerns.
The Greater Accra Regional Minister, Nii Armah Ashitey, who called the meeting, had asked the GPRTU to submit its concerns on paper as a working document to facilitate the resolution of the impasse.
He urged the GPRTU to also suggest solutions on how to improve the project.
“I believe that we want to work with documents so that we will all be clear in our minds about the issues being dealt with,” he added.
Nii Ashitey expressed the hope that at the next meeting, all the chief executives of the various assemblies involved in the implementation of the project would be present.
The Department of Urban Roads (DUR) is seeking to modernise and streamline Accra’s public transportation system with the introduction of the BRT.
But the GPRTU is opposed to it because it contends that the project will keep most of its members out of job.
According to the AMA, the BRT system would involve comfortable and large buses, fixed transportation routes with designated stops, sheltered stations and all day and night service.
Passengers would have to pay their fares prior to boarding the bus through a formalised fare collection system, instead of to the bus conductors directly, and drivers would have to register as legal entities.
It is anticipated that the BRT buses will reduce congestion and air pollution because they will be able to service more commuters and will not have to wait to be filled before leaving each stop, since the drivers will be paid a fixed amount, instead of having their earnings depending on the number of passengers they carry.
The proposed BRT system, which will be implemented by the DUR, with the support of the Urban Transport Project, is jointly funded by the Government of Ghana, the World Bank, the French Agency for Development and the Global Environmental Trust Fund.
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
WATCH OUT! Coke men in grey suits, EU Police warn
Front Page: Daily Graphic, May 12, 2010.
Story: Albert K. Salia
THE European Police have warned Ghana to be on the alert to the influx of drug moguls from Latin American states under the guise of bringing investment into the country.
They said the drug barons were exploiting the conducive business climate and political stability to establish bases in Ghana and other West African countries to conduct their illicit business in drugs.
The Deputy Director of the British Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) responsible for Cocaine, Mr Neil Giles; the Deputy Director-General of the French National Anti-Narcotics Bureau (OCTRIS), Mr Jean-Jacques Colombi, and Mr Andrea Rossi of the Italian Police gave the warning in an interview with the Daily Graphic in Accra yesterday.
The team, which also includes Antonia Mena Lopez, the Head of the National Drugs Intelligence Unit of Spain, is in the country as part of a three-nation West African tour to raise issues over the influx of drugs in and out of West Africa by Latin American barons into Europe and North America.
The team will seek to strengthen relationships with the countries visited and seek to address the operational challenges facing drug enforcement agencies in West Africa to enable the sub-region to deal with the drug problem.
Mr Giles said there was strong evidence of the drug barons using money to buy influence at the political, law enforcement and judicial levels, adding that it was important that West African countries and their citizens understood the threats posed by those barons and how to deal with them.
West Africa was the target because of the strong trade relations between it and Europe, which the barons had capitalised on in their attempt to ship large consignments of cocaine to Europe under the guise of exporting various food items and other commodities, he said.
“The threat to West Africa is real and unless we continue to operate and collaborate effectively, West Africa will be in serious trouble,” he said, and referred to the recent interception of an aircraft loaded with cocaine on the tarmac in Freetown, Sierra Leone, as a signal that with the right systems in place, West Africa could stand up to the menace.
“Ghana must be more alert. You will deter by being more alert; it is as simple as that,” he advised.
Mr Giles emphasised international collaboration and said it was because of it that the team was visiting Ghana, Senegal and The Gambia to develop a system of sharing information and working in partnership to achieve positive results.
He, however, said that would require having partners with integrity, saying that “in the face of the resourcefulness of the traffickers, they will interfere with the political, judicial and law enforcement systems to have their way”.
Mr Giles commended Ghana for being at the forefront in the fight against drugs.
Mr Colombi said there had been a dramatic decline in the courier traffic from Ghana to European, noting that what that meant was that “what we are doing here is bearing fruit”.
He said Ghana had been able to find the right response to dealing with courier traffickers but was quick to add that it could also mean that the drug barons had changed their ways, hence the need to collaborate and look elsewhere.
Story: Albert K. Salia
THE European Police have warned Ghana to be on the alert to the influx of drug moguls from Latin American states under the guise of bringing investment into the country.
They said the drug barons were exploiting the conducive business climate and political stability to establish bases in Ghana and other West African countries to conduct their illicit business in drugs.
The Deputy Director of the British Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) responsible for Cocaine, Mr Neil Giles; the Deputy Director-General of the French National Anti-Narcotics Bureau (OCTRIS), Mr Jean-Jacques Colombi, and Mr Andrea Rossi of the Italian Police gave the warning in an interview with the Daily Graphic in Accra yesterday.
The team, which also includes Antonia Mena Lopez, the Head of the National Drugs Intelligence Unit of Spain, is in the country as part of a three-nation West African tour to raise issues over the influx of drugs in and out of West Africa by Latin American barons into Europe and North America.
The team will seek to strengthen relationships with the countries visited and seek to address the operational challenges facing drug enforcement agencies in West Africa to enable the sub-region to deal with the drug problem.
Mr Giles said there was strong evidence of the drug barons using money to buy influence at the political, law enforcement and judicial levels, adding that it was important that West African countries and their citizens understood the threats posed by those barons and how to deal with them.
West Africa was the target because of the strong trade relations between it and Europe, which the barons had capitalised on in their attempt to ship large consignments of cocaine to Europe under the guise of exporting various food items and other commodities, he said.
“The threat to West Africa is real and unless we continue to operate and collaborate effectively, West Africa will be in serious trouble,” he said, and referred to the recent interception of an aircraft loaded with cocaine on the tarmac in Freetown, Sierra Leone, as a signal that with the right systems in place, West Africa could stand up to the menace.
“Ghana must be more alert. You will deter by being more alert; it is as simple as that,” he advised.
Mr Giles emphasised international collaboration and said it was because of it that the team was visiting Ghana, Senegal and The Gambia to develop a system of sharing information and working in partnership to achieve positive results.
He, however, said that would require having partners with integrity, saying that “in the face of the resourcefulness of the traffickers, they will interfere with the political, judicial and law enforcement systems to have their way”.
Mr Giles commended Ghana for being at the forefront in the fight against drugs.
Mr Colombi said there had been a dramatic decline in the courier traffic from Ghana to European, noting that what that meant was that “what we are doing here is bearing fruit”.
He said Ghana had been able to find the right response to dealing with courier traffickers but was quick to add that it could also mean that the drug barons had changed their ways, hence the need to collaborate and look elsewhere.
Monday, May 10, 2010
Police nab four criminals
Page 19: Daily Graphic, May 11, 2010.
Story: Albert K. Salia
FOUR suspected criminals, including a former jail bird, have been arrested by the police in Accra.
While two of the suspects are alleged armed robbers, the other two have been arrested in connection with a murder case and a suspected money doubling scam, respectively.
They are John Amewugah, David Agbanyo, the alleged robbers, Festus Kwabena Oppong, the suspected murderer, and Charles Kobena Asiedu, the alleged money doubler.
While Amewugah was said to have been released from the Nsawam Medium Security Prison in February this year for his involvement in a bullion robbery at Teshie in 2003, Agbanyo was part of the gang that robbed a Ghanaian diplomat in March this year.
Briefing newsmen in Accra yesterday, the Deputy Accra Regional Police Commander, ACP Christian Tetteh Yohuno, said the police had information that some armed robbers were planning to rob a forex bureau at Achimota on April 23, 2010.
He said plain-clothes policemen were subsequently detailed to the location of the forex bureau to lay ambush.
He said unknown to the suspected robbers, the owner of the bureau did not open for business on that day.
According to him, the police rushed on the robbers to arrest them but succeeded in apprehending only Amewugah, while his other accomplices, including one identified only as Awudu, escaped.
ACP Yohuno said a foreign pistol with six rounds of ammunition was retrieved from Amewugah.
He said it was later gathered that Awudu had been part of the bullion van robbery at Teshie but he managed to escape to Nigeria and returned only recently.
On Agbanyo, he said the suspect sought refuge in Ho in the Volta Region after the raid on the diplomat’s house, during which one of the accomplices, John Kofi Fiagbedzi, alias Spider, was killed.
He said one of the robbery victims of Spider and his gang identified Agbanyo as the person who had shot him in his left arm at Sakumono and took away his Range Rover in January this year.
With regard to Oppong, ACP Yohuno said the suspect visited a friend of his, Kofi Appiah, the caretaker of a house at Adusa, near Pokuase, on November 9, 2009 to pass the night.
He explained that Appiah and Oppong were both natives of Apedwa in the Eastern Region.
According to ACP Yohuno, Oppong had heard that money had been sent to Appiah to continue with the construction of the house in which he was staying.
He said the suspect asked Appiah to give him part of the money but Appiah allegedly refused, resulting in a quarrel between them.
ACP Yohuno said about 1:30 a.m., the suspect entered Appiah’s room, picked a bottle and hit Appiah’s forehead with it when he saw Appiah lying supine.
He said Appiah, in an attempt to escape from the room, fell along the way and the suspect allegedly hit Appiah’s neck with an object, killing him instantly.
He said Oppong then took Appiah’s body and locked it in a room, after which he took away two LCD television sets, ladies’ bags, pieces of cloth and a travelling bag.
ACP Yohuno said the suspect later gave the items to his girlfriend for safekeeping.
He said investigations led to Oppong’s arrest last Friday when he was about to board a vehicle at La Paz, a suburb of Accra.
On Asiedu, ACP Yohuno said a chop box loaded with toilet rolls and covered with fake dollar notes was arrested yesterday morning when he and his accomplices, yet to be identified, wanted to double money for an unsuspecting client.
He said two Qurans, two whisks and some beads (tasbars) were retrieved from the suspect.
Story: Albert K. Salia
FOUR suspected criminals, including a former jail bird, have been arrested by the police in Accra.
While two of the suspects are alleged armed robbers, the other two have been arrested in connection with a murder case and a suspected money doubling scam, respectively.
They are John Amewugah, David Agbanyo, the alleged robbers, Festus Kwabena Oppong, the suspected murderer, and Charles Kobena Asiedu, the alleged money doubler.
While Amewugah was said to have been released from the Nsawam Medium Security Prison in February this year for his involvement in a bullion robbery at Teshie in 2003, Agbanyo was part of the gang that robbed a Ghanaian diplomat in March this year.
Briefing newsmen in Accra yesterday, the Deputy Accra Regional Police Commander, ACP Christian Tetteh Yohuno, said the police had information that some armed robbers were planning to rob a forex bureau at Achimota on April 23, 2010.
He said plain-clothes policemen were subsequently detailed to the location of the forex bureau to lay ambush.
He said unknown to the suspected robbers, the owner of the bureau did not open for business on that day.
According to him, the police rushed on the robbers to arrest them but succeeded in apprehending only Amewugah, while his other accomplices, including one identified only as Awudu, escaped.
ACP Yohuno said a foreign pistol with six rounds of ammunition was retrieved from Amewugah.
He said it was later gathered that Awudu had been part of the bullion van robbery at Teshie but he managed to escape to Nigeria and returned only recently.
On Agbanyo, he said the suspect sought refuge in Ho in the Volta Region after the raid on the diplomat’s house, during which one of the accomplices, John Kofi Fiagbedzi, alias Spider, was killed.
He said one of the robbery victims of Spider and his gang identified Agbanyo as the person who had shot him in his left arm at Sakumono and took away his Range Rover in January this year.
With regard to Oppong, ACP Yohuno said the suspect visited a friend of his, Kofi Appiah, the caretaker of a house at Adusa, near Pokuase, on November 9, 2009 to pass the night.
He explained that Appiah and Oppong were both natives of Apedwa in the Eastern Region.
According to ACP Yohuno, Oppong had heard that money had been sent to Appiah to continue with the construction of the house in which he was staying.
He said the suspect asked Appiah to give him part of the money but Appiah allegedly refused, resulting in a quarrel between them.
ACP Yohuno said about 1:30 a.m., the suspect entered Appiah’s room, picked a bottle and hit Appiah’s forehead with it when he saw Appiah lying supine.
He said Appiah, in an attempt to escape from the room, fell along the way and the suspect allegedly hit Appiah’s neck with an object, killing him instantly.
He said Oppong then took Appiah’s body and locked it in a room, after which he took away two LCD television sets, ladies’ bags, pieces of cloth and a travelling bag.
ACP Yohuno said the suspect later gave the items to his girlfriend for safekeeping.
He said investigations led to Oppong’s arrest last Friday when he was about to board a vehicle at La Paz, a suburb of Accra.
On Asiedu, ACP Yohuno said a chop box loaded with toilet rolls and covered with fake dollar notes was arrested yesterday morning when he and his accomplices, yet to be identified, wanted to double money for an unsuspecting client.
He said two Qurans, two whisks and some beads (tasbars) were retrieved from the suspect.
And Palmer-Buckle wept!
Front Page: Daily Graphic, May 10, 2010.
Story: Albert K. Salia
The Metropolitan Archbishop of Accra, the Most Rev Charles Gabriel Palmer-Buckle, broke down in tears on several occasions on Sunday, May 8, 2010, as he preached a sermon of forgiveness and reconciliation at the Martyrs of Uganda Catholic Church (MUCC).
The church was the same venue where last Sunday some irate members desecrated parts of the buildings in protest against some policies and demands of the Metropolitan Archbishop who was expected at the church for a confirmation service.
Not only was the visit to the MUCC unannounced; the Most Rev Palmer-Buckle also acknowledged that it was the second time he was shedding tears since joining the priesthood.
Intermittently breaking down in tears as he delivered the sermon, the Metropolitan Archbishop urged the congregation to use the unhappy incident to begin a new life by forging ahead in unity, love and peace.
“If, in any way, I have offended anyone, either by my utterances or actions, I ask for forgiveness for myself and for my priests,” he said and urged them to leave behind them the sad incident that occurred at the precincts of the church during his visit there last week.
“We can’t let our hearts be troubled or be afraid because of what happened here last Sunday,” he told the congregation in a sermon.
He reminded them that the church was not a museum of saints but a hospital for sinners, as Jesus Christ indicated in Luke 5:31-32, that “People who are well do not need a doctor, but only those who are sick. I have not come to call respectable people to repent, but outcasts.”
He, therefore, urged them to acknowledge their faults together and resolve them, for God might have a good purpose for what happened.
According to him, the congregation could not afford to let the world believe that they did the unthinkable or that the church was at loggerheads with itself.
The Most Rev Palmer-Buckle said what happened at the precincts of the church, the timing of the incident and its nature made him convinced that the perpetrators were neither Christians nor members of the MUCC.
He said the church had a duty to pray for the perpetrators so that the Holy Spirit would draw them to Christ.
He reminded the parishioners that the martyrs of Uganda were the pride of the church and pride of the lay apostolate, as the 22 men and women, including a 14-year-old boy, Kizito, died for their faith.
“I love you all. I need your love. Please love your priests, love one another,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Parish Pastoral Council of the MUCC has rendered an unqualified apology for the incident.
It said an investigative committee had been set up to look into the incident and urged anyone who had information on the incident to get in touch with the committee.
A statement issued by the PPC and read during yesterday’s church service noted that a date for repentance, renewal and re-dedication of the church would be announced later.
Members of the MUCC on May 2, 2010 received a rude shock when they turned up for worship only to find the sanctity of the church desecrated with human excreta and offensive posters by unknown persons.
The act was said to have been carried out at 3 a.m. in protest against some policies and demands of the Most Rev Palmer-Buckle, who was expected at the church for a confirmation service.
The first church service, which was to begin at 6:30 a.m., was delayed, as members had to wait for the mess and the strong stench which filled the air to be cleansed. The service eventually took place without any incident.
The perpetrators also tampered with the electrical works, ceiling fans and public address system of the church.
Story: Albert K. Salia
The Metropolitan Archbishop of Accra, the Most Rev Charles Gabriel Palmer-Buckle, broke down in tears on several occasions on Sunday, May 8, 2010, as he preached a sermon of forgiveness and reconciliation at the Martyrs of Uganda Catholic Church (MUCC).
The church was the same venue where last Sunday some irate members desecrated parts of the buildings in protest against some policies and demands of the Metropolitan Archbishop who was expected at the church for a confirmation service.
Not only was the visit to the MUCC unannounced; the Most Rev Palmer-Buckle also acknowledged that it was the second time he was shedding tears since joining the priesthood.
Intermittently breaking down in tears as he delivered the sermon, the Metropolitan Archbishop urged the congregation to use the unhappy incident to begin a new life by forging ahead in unity, love and peace.
“If, in any way, I have offended anyone, either by my utterances or actions, I ask for forgiveness for myself and for my priests,” he said and urged them to leave behind them the sad incident that occurred at the precincts of the church during his visit there last week.
“We can’t let our hearts be troubled or be afraid because of what happened here last Sunday,” he told the congregation in a sermon.
He reminded them that the church was not a museum of saints but a hospital for sinners, as Jesus Christ indicated in Luke 5:31-32, that “People who are well do not need a doctor, but only those who are sick. I have not come to call respectable people to repent, but outcasts.”
He, therefore, urged them to acknowledge their faults together and resolve them, for God might have a good purpose for what happened.
According to him, the congregation could not afford to let the world believe that they did the unthinkable or that the church was at loggerheads with itself.
The Most Rev Palmer-Buckle said what happened at the precincts of the church, the timing of the incident and its nature made him convinced that the perpetrators were neither Christians nor members of the MUCC.
He said the church had a duty to pray for the perpetrators so that the Holy Spirit would draw them to Christ.
He reminded the parishioners that the martyrs of Uganda were the pride of the church and pride of the lay apostolate, as the 22 men and women, including a 14-year-old boy, Kizito, died for their faith.
“I love you all. I need your love. Please love your priests, love one another,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Parish Pastoral Council of the MUCC has rendered an unqualified apology for the incident.
It said an investigative committee had been set up to look into the incident and urged anyone who had information on the incident to get in touch with the committee.
A statement issued by the PPC and read during yesterday’s church service noted that a date for repentance, renewal and re-dedication of the church would be announced later.
Members of the MUCC on May 2, 2010 received a rude shock when they turned up for worship only to find the sanctity of the church desecrated with human excreta and offensive posters by unknown persons.
The act was said to have been carried out at 3 a.m. in protest against some policies and demands of the Most Rev Palmer-Buckle, who was expected at the church for a confirmation service.
The first church service, which was to begin at 6:30 a.m., was delayed, as members had to wait for the mess and the strong stench which filled the air to be cleansed. The service eventually took place without any incident.
The perpetrators also tampered with the electrical works, ceiling fans and public address system of the church.
Friday, May 7, 2010
Headmistress held for indecent assault of nursery pupils
Pages 16/17: Daily Graphic, May 7, 2010.
Story: Albert K. Salia
THE headmistress of a nursery school at the Mallam Atta Market in Accra has been arrested for alleged indecent assault on pupils of the nursery.
The suspect, Cornelia Garbah, is currently on bail and is due to appear before court on May 10, 2010.
Four of her victims have so far been identified.
Cornelia has, however, denied any wrongdoing.
The Tesano Divisional Police Commander, Chief Superintendent Emmanuel Bossoh, told the Daily Graphic yesterday that a couple reported to the Domestic Violence and Victims Support Unit (DOVVSU) of the Ghana Police Service on April 26, 2010 that Cornelia had been inserting her fingers into the vagina of their seven-year-old daughter.
He said as a part of the report issued by a medical officer after examining the victim, it was indicated that the victim had told the medical officer that Cornelia had been doing it to other girls.
According to Chief Supt Bossoh, the police went to the school to invite the headmistress for questioning and also to identify the other victims.
He said when the three other victims were identified, they all confirmed that Cornelia had been inserting her fingers into their private parts while they were on break.
He said the victims also showed the police the corner in the suspect’s office where she had been inserting her fingers into their private parts.
Chief Supt Bossoh said the victims alleged that Cornelia oftentimes sent anyone of them to buy either water or porridge for her during the break period.
Upon their return, he said, the suspect took them to the corner in her office to commit the offence, after which she would warn them not to tell anyone.
Chief Supt Bossoh said the victims claimed that each time they screamed for help, Cornelia shouted at them to keep quiet, saying that the victims claimed the act had been repeated several times.
Story: Albert K. Salia
THE headmistress of a nursery school at the Mallam Atta Market in Accra has been arrested for alleged indecent assault on pupils of the nursery.
The suspect, Cornelia Garbah, is currently on bail and is due to appear before court on May 10, 2010.
Four of her victims have so far been identified.
Cornelia has, however, denied any wrongdoing.
The Tesano Divisional Police Commander, Chief Superintendent Emmanuel Bossoh, told the Daily Graphic yesterday that a couple reported to the Domestic Violence and Victims Support Unit (DOVVSU) of the Ghana Police Service on April 26, 2010 that Cornelia had been inserting her fingers into the vagina of their seven-year-old daughter.
He said as a part of the report issued by a medical officer after examining the victim, it was indicated that the victim had told the medical officer that Cornelia had been doing it to other girls.
According to Chief Supt Bossoh, the police went to the school to invite the headmistress for questioning and also to identify the other victims.
He said when the three other victims were identified, they all confirmed that Cornelia had been inserting her fingers into their private parts while they were on break.
He said the victims also showed the police the corner in the suspect’s office where she had been inserting her fingers into their private parts.
Chief Supt Bossoh said the victims alleged that Cornelia oftentimes sent anyone of them to buy either water or porridge for her during the break period.
Upon their return, he said, the suspect took them to the corner in her office to commit the offence, after which she would warn them not to tell anyone.
Chief Supt Bossoh said the victims claimed that each time they screamed for help, Cornelia shouted at them to keep quiet, saying that the victims claimed the act had been repeated several times.
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Bureau receives 864 cases against policemen
Page 46: Daily Graphic, May 5, 2010.
Story: Albert K. Salia
THE Police Intelligence and Professional Standards Bureau (PIPS) received 864 complaints from all parts of the country against police personnel last year.
Investigations into 551 of the complaints have been completed while 313 cases are still under investigation.
The complaints bordered on extortion, 47; misconduct, 243; misappropriation of exhibits, 53; unprofessional handling of cases, 136, and unlawful arrest and detention, 79.
The rest are police brutality, 67; meddling in civil cases, 96; withholding of exhibits, 66, and harassment and intimidation, 78.
Forty-nine of the police personnel were dismissed in 2009 and 43 interdicted while seven have so far been dismissed in 2010 with 37 on interdiction.
The Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mr Paul Tawiah Quaye, who disclosed this in an interview, explained that other personnel whose offences did not warrant dismissals suffered other forms of punishment including reduction in rank.
He said he made it a policy on assumption of office in May last year that for him to succeed, he had to ensure that the service would not tolerate any offensive acts or misdeeds.
Mr Quaye said such a move was essential to winning the trust and confidence of the people especially the informants.
According to him, the image-cleansing exercise that he declared was paying off as people were not just reporting the misdeeds of police personnel, but that the offenders got punished.
He said personnel who were found to be indulging in criminal practices were dismissed, particularly those who blatantly got involved in crime or colluded with businessmen to defraud.
Mr Quaye said there was a policy in place to identify and flush out such criminal police personnel out of the service.
“The heat is on us because we do not want the public to see us as doing nothing about those criminal characters. We are cleansing ourselves so that we have policemen and women worthy of the uniform to remain and do their work in confidence,” he said.
The IGP said there were some personnel, both superiors and junior ranks, who were even exposing their colleagues to the Police Administration, saying “that should tell you things are now different”.
He said the Police Administration would tackle the image-cleansing agenda more robustly this year and gave the assurance that “we will purge ourselves”.
Mr Quaye said from the beginning of the year, he made it a policy to show a zero tolerance for robbery, respond promptly to distress calls and improve response time.
He said the Police Administration made use of its scarce resources and succeeded in achieving maximum returns.
Mr Quaye attributed the successes so far to the zoning of Accra/Tema into much smaller units and holding commanders accountable for any robberies.
“The credit should come to all of us, especially the informants who have partnered us effectively. For once, they have shown trust and confidence in the Police Administration. They openly come to us without fear of being exposed or cheated. This is something laudable,” he said.
Story: Albert K. Salia
THE Police Intelligence and Professional Standards Bureau (PIPS) received 864 complaints from all parts of the country against police personnel last year.
Investigations into 551 of the complaints have been completed while 313 cases are still under investigation.
The complaints bordered on extortion, 47; misconduct, 243; misappropriation of exhibits, 53; unprofessional handling of cases, 136, and unlawful arrest and detention, 79.
The rest are police brutality, 67; meddling in civil cases, 96; withholding of exhibits, 66, and harassment and intimidation, 78.
Forty-nine of the police personnel were dismissed in 2009 and 43 interdicted while seven have so far been dismissed in 2010 with 37 on interdiction.
The Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mr Paul Tawiah Quaye, who disclosed this in an interview, explained that other personnel whose offences did not warrant dismissals suffered other forms of punishment including reduction in rank.
He said he made it a policy on assumption of office in May last year that for him to succeed, he had to ensure that the service would not tolerate any offensive acts or misdeeds.
Mr Quaye said such a move was essential to winning the trust and confidence of the people especially the informants.
According to him, the image-cleansing exercise that he declared was paying off as people were not just reporting the misdeeds of police personnel, but that the offenders got punished.
He said personnel who were found to be indulging in criminal practices were dismissed, particularly those who blatantly got involved in crime or colluded with businessmen to defraud.
Mr Quaye said there was a policy in place to identify and flush out such criminal police personnel out of the service.
“The heat is on us because we do not want the public to see us as doing nothing about those criminal characters. We are cleansing ourselves so that we have policemen and women worthy of the uniform to remain and do their work in confidence,” he said.
The IGP said there were some personnel, both superiors and junior ranks, who were even exposing their colleagues to the Police Administration, saying “that should tell you things are now different”.
He said the Police Administration would tackle the image-cleansing agenda more robustly this year and gave the assurance that “we will purge ourselves”.
Mr Quaye said from the beginning of the year, he made it a policy to show a zero tolerance for robbery, respond promptly to distress calls and improve response time.
He said the Police Administration made use of its scarce resources and succeeded in achieving maximum returns.
Mr Quaye attributed the successes so far to the zoning of Accra/Tema into much smaller units and holding commanders accountable for any robberies.
“The credit should come to all of us, especially the informants who have partnered us effectively. For once, they have shown trust and confidence in the Police Administration. They openly come to us without fear of being exposed or cheated. This is something laudable,” he said.
Friday, April 30, 2010
3 Soldiers, others busted for extortion
Front Page: Daily Graphic, April 30, 2010.
Story: Albert K. Salia
THREE more soldiers and two policemen have been cited among the growing ranks of men in uniform who attempt to acquire wealth by means that offend the law.
The latest case to upset the Ghana Armed Forces and the Ghana Police is one of alleged extortion in which the three soldiers (including an ex-serviceman) and a civilian were arrested today (Thursday) by officers at the Accra Regional Police Headquarters.
The two policemen and another civilian accomplice of theirs, however, managed to escape arrest.
One of the policemen on the run has been identified as Corporal Isaac Opare of the Accra Central Police Station, while the identity of the second has not been ascertained.
Those in custody are William Taylor and Bismark Boateng, both active servicemen at the Air Force Base, Iddrisu Attoh, who claimed he had resigned from the Air Force, and Agbeko Manna, the civilian.
Briefing the Daily Graphic in Accra yesterday, the Public Affairs Officer of the Accra Regional Police Command, Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Cyprian Zenge, said the suspects purportedly arrested and handcuffed two persons, Karim Abdulai and Nana Koranteng, a taxi driver, for allegedly smoking Indian hemp.
He said the security men allegedly informed the “suspects” that the Greater Accra Regional Police Commander, DCOP Rose Bio Atinga, had ordered their arrest for dealing in Indian hemp.
He said the security men, at that point, sought to bargain with the “suspects” for their release.
That, he explained, was after the security men had seized Nana Koranteng’s mobile phones, money and car key.
He said when the security men drove towards the Accra Regional Police Command, they did not want to go into the yard with the “suspects”, resulting in a heated argument, with Abdulai and Koranteng insisting that they be sent to the Regional Police Commander.
He said the security men attempted to abscond when some policemen approached their vehicle to find out what was happening. In the process, the soldiers and Agbeko were arrested.
To effect the operation, he said, one of the civilians hired a trotro in the morning to pick the soldiers.
He said one of the soldiers was picked up around Kantamanto, from where they went to Dansoman to pick three other persons, including another soldier.
He said the gang went back to the Central Motor Traffic and Transport Unit to pick up another policeman and from there they went to Avenor, near the Kwame Nkrumah Circle, for the operation.
Story: Albert K. Salia
THREE more soldiers and two policemen have been cited among the growing ranks of men in uniform who attempt to acquire wealth by means that offend the law.
The latest case to upset the Ghana Armed Forces and the Ghana Police is one of alleged extortion in which the three soldiers (including an ex-serviceman) and a civilian were arrested today (Thursday) by officers at the Accra Regional Police Headquarters.
The two policemen and another civilian accomplice of theirs, however, managed to escape arrest.
One of the policemen on the run has been identified as Corporal Isaac Opare of the Accra Central Police Station, while the identity of the second has not been ascertained.
Those in custody are William Taylor and Bismark Boateng, both active servicemen at the Air Force Base, Iddrisu Attoh, who claimed he had resigned from the Air Force, and Agbeko Manna, the civilian.
Briefing the Daily Graphic in Accra yesterday, the Public Affairs Officer of the Accra Regional Police Command, Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Cyprian Zenge, said the suspects purportedly arrested and handcuffed two persons, Karim Abdulai and Nana Koranteng, a taxi driver, for allegedly smoking Indian hemp.
He said the security men allegedly informed the “suspects” that the Greater Accra Regional Police Commander, DCOP Rose Bio Atinga, had ordered their arrest for dealing in Indian hemp.
He said the security men, at that point, sought to bargain with the “suspects” for their release.
That, he explained, was after the security men had seized Nana Koranteng’s mobile phones, money and car key.
He said when the security men drove towards the Accra Regional Police Command, they did not want to go into the yard with the “suspects”, resulting in a heated argument, with Abdulai and Koranteng insisting that they be sent to the Regional Police Commander.
He said the security men attempted to abscond when some policemen approached their vehicle to find out what was happening. In the process, the soldiers and Agbeko were arrested.
To effect the operation, he said, one of the civilians hired a trotro in the morning to pick the soldiers.
He said one of the soldiers was picked up around Kantamanto, from where they went to Dansoman to pick three other persons, including another soldier.
He said the gang went back to the Central Motor Traffic and Transport Unit to pick up another policeman and from there they went to Avenor, near the Kwame Nkrumah Circle, for the operation.
Music producer nabbed over cocaine
Page 3: Daily Graphic, April 30, 2010.
Story: Albert K. Salia
A SELF-proclaimed music producer was on Tuesday night arrested by officials of the Narcotics Control Board (NACOB) for allegedly attempting to smuggle substances suspected to be cocaine outside the country.
Samuel Sarfo Kantanka, alias Manga, 56, claimed he would have been paid £4,000 if he had successfully delivered the 96 pellets of cocaine he claimed to have swallowed.
As of the time of filing this report, Sarfo Kantanka was still expelling the drugs he ingested.
The suspect was arrested while going through departure formalities at the Kotoka International Airport in Accra on his way to London.
He, however, denied being a music producer and explained that he had used that profession to acquire a passport and facilitate his travels abroad.
Briefing the Daily Graphic, the Director of Operations of NACOB, Mr Dickson Akatsa, said the board’s operatives had accosted Sarfo Kantanka on suspicion that he was carrying drugs.
He said the suspect, who was travelling on a Ghanaian passport with number H1894034, was then taken through the body scanner, which showed that there were some foreign materials concealed in his body.
He said a urine test confirmed that the suspect had ingested narcotic substances.
According to him, upon interrogation, the suspect allegedly mentioned someone he identified only as Stone as the one who gave him the drugs at a guest house at Ashongman to give to a Ghanaian in London, whom he identified only as Obroni.
Mr Akatsa said Sarfo Kantanka led NACOB officials on a wild goose chase to locate Stone’s house after he had told the officials that he knew the house.
The suspect told NACOB officials that he was not a music producer but that the accolade had been given to him when he followed some bandsmen around the country between 1977 and 1979.
According to him, he also adopted that profession to help Ghanaians travel abroad under the guise of going to produce music abroad.
Story: Albert K. Salia
A SELF-proclaimed music producer was on Tuesday night arrested by officials of the Narcotics Control Board (NACOB) for allegedly attempting to smuggle substances suspected to be cocaine outside the country.
Samuel Sarfo Kantanka, alias Manga, 56, claimed he would have been paid £4,000 if he had successfully delivered the 96 pellets of cocaine he claimed to have swallowed.
As of the time of filing this report, Sarfo Kantanka was still expelling the drugs he ingested.
The suspect was arrested while going through departure formalities at the Kotoka International Airport in Accra on his way to London.
He, however, denied being a music producer and explained that he had used that profession to acquire a passport and facilitate his travels abroad.
Briefing the Daily Graphic, the Director of Operations of NACOB, Mr Dickson Akatsa, said the board’s operatives had accosted Sarfo Kantanka on suspicion that he was carrying drugs.
He said the suspect, who was travelling on a Ghanaian passport with number H1894034, was then taken through the body scanner, which showed that there were some foreign materials concealed in his body.
He said a urine test confirmed that the suspect had ingested narcotic substances.
According to him, upon interrogation, the suspect allegedly mentioned someone he identified only as Stone as the one who gave him the drugs at a guest house at Ashongman to give to a Ghanaian in London, whom he identified only as Obroni.
Mr Akatsa said Sarfo Kantanka led NACOB officials on a wild goose chase to locate Stone’s house after he had told the officials that he knew the house.
The suspect told NACOB officials that he was not a music producer but that the accolade had been given to him when he followed some bandsmen around the country between 1977 and 1979.
According to him, he also adopted that profession to help Ghanaians travel abroad under the guise of going to produce music abroad.
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Maritime boundary demarcation not about oil
Page 49: Daily Graphic, April 28, 2010.
Story: Albert K. Salia
GHANA and Cote d’Ivoire have made it clear that the task before their joint ministerial committee on the demarcation of their maritime boundary is not about oil.
The Ivorian Interior Minister, Mr Desire Tagro, made the point in Accra yesterday at the opening of a two-day inter-ministerial discussion aimed at an amicable demarcation of the two countries’ maritime boundary.
“The issue is about the demarcation of maritime boundaries and not oil fields, as has been churned out in media circles,” he said, and appealed to the media to facilitate the process, instead of sensationalising it to destroy the hard- won trust, friendship and brotherliness between the two countries.
Mr Tagro said the friendship and relationship between President John Evans Atta Mills of Ghana and his Ivorian counterpart, President Laurent Gbagbo, had been qualitatively built and had to be guarded because it had become the envy of many countries.
He was hopeful that the negotiations would take place without the media stirring unnecessary passions to destroy the relations between the two countries.
The meeting is expected to develop a road map for the negotiations and also enable Ghana to respond to the Ivorian proposal submitted during the second meeting between the two countries in Ghana in February last year.
Cote d’Ivoire is also expected to respond to proposals made by Ghana, after which the two countries will set an agenda and date for the next meeting.
Ghana’s delegation is led by the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources and Chairman of the Boundary Commission, Alhaji Collins Dauda, with the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Alhaji Muhammad Mumuni, and the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Mrs Betty Mould-Iddrisu, as members of the 20-member delegation.
The Ivorian side is led by Mr Tagro and it includes the country’s Minister of Mines and Energy, Mr Augustin Comoe, and the Ivorian Ambassador to Ghana, Mr Auguste Emmanuel Ackah.
Addressing the opening session, Alhaji Dauda noted that the subject for the meeting was a requirement for Ghana and its coastal neighbours to negotiate their maritime boundaries in accordance with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
He made it clear that maritime boundaries were required between neighbouring states, just like land boundaries, as they established the limits within which neighbouring states might operate, exercise their jurisdiction and in which they had the right of ownership.
He noted that Ghana and its neighbours had agreed that issues relating to adjacent or opposite boundaries should continue to be discussed in a spirit of co-operation to arrive at definite maritime boundaries delimitation after their respective submissions.
He recalled that the presidents of Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire had met at their level and assured each other of co-operation in the boundary delimitation process.
He said it was in the light of that that Ghana had invited Cote d’Ivoire to continue with the process of delimitation of their common maritime boundary after the government had composed a Ghana Boundary Commission to engage its neighbours to continue with the negotiations.
Alhaji Dauda said the cordial relations between the two countries would ensure that the negotiations went on successfully based on the provisions of the UNCLOS.
The Ivorian delegation, led by Mr Tagro, later in the day delivered a special message from the Ivorian Leader, President Gbagbo to President Mills at the Castle, Osu, reports Kweku Tsen.
Interacting with the media after delivering the message, Mr Tagro said President Mills and President Gbagbo were expected to meet at Yamossoukro in Cote d’Ivoire to take a detailed and dispassionate look at the boundary issue between the two countries.
He was accompanied by the Ivorian Minister of Mines, Mr Comoe; Mr Ackah, the Ambassador of Cote d’Ivoire in Ghana, and Mr Madi Buoabre, a member of the Ivorian Parliament.
Mr Tagro said an invitation to that effect had been extended to the Ghanaian President but indicated that the date for the meeting between the two countries to deal with the boundary issue was yet to be determined.
“President Gbagbo has extended an invitation to President Mills for the meeting and the Ghanaian President has to respond to the invitation for the holding of the meeting at his own convenience, considering his tight schedule,” he said.
Mr Tagro said Ghana-Cote d’Ivoire relations dated back to the first Republic under President Nkrumah and for that matter issues which arose between them should be solved amicably.
It would be recalled that President Mills recently swore in the Ghana Boundary Demarcation Commission to oversee the demarcation and delimitation of the country’s land borders and marine positions.
That was after Parliament had passed the Boundary Demarcation Bill which was sent to the House under a Certificate of Urgency by the government.
Welcoming the delegation, President Mills called for the strengthening of Ghana-Cote d’Ivoire relations for the mutual benefit of the two countries.
Commenting on the forthcoming elections in Cote d’Ivoire, President Mills said it was the expectation of the government and people of Ghana that the polls would pass off peacefully.
“The government and people of Ghana stand solidly behind you as you prepare to conduct your elections,” he said. “We know democracy will triumph in Cote d’Ivoire,” he added.
Present at the meeting were the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Alhaji Mohammed Mumuni and Mrs Betty Mould-Iddrisu, respectively.
Story: Albert K. Salia
GHANA and Cote d’Ivoire have made it clear that the task before their joint ministerial committee on the demarcation of their maritime boundary is not about oil.
The Ivorian Interior Minister, Mr Desire Tagro, made the point in Accra yesterday at the opening of a two-day inter-ministerial discussion aimed at an amicable demarcation of the two countries’ maritime boundary.
“The issue is about the demarcation of maritime boundaries and not oil fields, as has been churned out in media circles,” he said, and appealed to the media to facilitate the process, instead of sensationalising it to destroy the hard- won trust, friendship and brotherliness between the two countries.
Mr Tagro said the friendship and relationship between President John Evans Atta Mills of Ghana and his Ivorian counterpart, President Laurent Gbagbo, had been qualitatively built and had to be guarded because it had become the envy of many countries.
He was hopeful that the negotiations would take place without the media stirring unnecessary passions to destroy the relations between the two countries.
The meeting is expected to develop a road map for the negotiations and also enable Ghana to respond to the Ivorian proposal submitted during the second meeting between the two countries in Ghana in February last year.
Cote d’Ivoire is also expected to respond to proposals made by Ghana, after which the two countries will set an agenda and date for the next meeting.
Ghana’s delegation is led by the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources and Chairman of the Boundary Commission, Alhaji Collins Dauda, with the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Alhaji Muhammad Mumuni, and the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Mrs Betty Mould-Iddrisu, as members of the 20-member delegation.
The Ivorian side is led by Mr Tagro and it includes the country’s Minister of Mines and Energy, Mr Augustin Comoe, and the Ivorian Ambassador to Ghana, Mr Auguste Emmanuel Ackah.
Addressing the opening session, Alhaji Dauda noted that the subject for the meeting was a requirement for Ghana and its coastal neighbours to negotiate their maritime boundaries in accordance with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
He made it clear that maritime boundaries were required between neighbouring states, just like land boundaries, as they established the limits within which neighbouring states might operate, exercise their jurisdiction and in which they had the right of ownership.
He noted that Ghana and its neighbours had agreed that issues relating to adjacent or opposite boundaries should continue to be discussed in a spirit of co-operation to arrive at definite maritime boundaries delimitation after their respective submissions.
He recalled that the presidents of Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire had met at their level and assured each other of co-operation in the boundary delimitation process.
He said it was in the light of that that Ghana had invited Cote d’Ivoire to continue with the process of delimitation of their common maritime boundary after the government had composed a Ghana Boundary Commission to engage its neighbours to continue with the negotiations.
Alhaji Dauda said the cordial relations between the two countries would ensure that the negotiations went on successfully based on the provisions of the UNCLOS.
The Ivorian delegation, led by Mr Tagro, later in the day delivered a special message from the Ivorian Leader, President Gbagbo to President Mills at the Castle, Osu, reports Kweku Tsen.
Interacting with the media after delivering the message, Mr Tagro said President Mills and President Gbagbo were expected to meet at Yamossoukro in Cote d’Ivoire to take a detailed and dispassionate look at the boundary issue between the two countries.
He was accompanied by the Ivorian Minister of Mines, Mr Comoe; Mr Ackah, the Ambassador of Cote d’Ivoire in Ghana, and Mr Madi Buoabre, a member of the Ivorian Parliament.
Mr Tagro said an invitation to that effect had been extended to the Ghanaian President but indicated that the date for the meeting between the two countries to deal with the boundary issue was yet to be determined.
“President Gbagbo has extended an invitation to President Mills for the meeting and the Ghanaian President has to respond to the invitation for the holding of the meeting at his own convenience, considering his tight schedule,” he said.
Mr Tagro said Ghana-Cote d’Ivoire relations dated back to the first Republic under President Nkrumah and for that matter issues which arose between them should be solved amicably.
It would be recalled that President Mills recently swore in the Ghana Boundary Demarcation Commission to oversee the demarcation and delimitation of the country’s land borders and marine positions.
That was after Parliament had passed the Boundary Demarcation Bill which was sent to the House under a Certificate of Urgency by the government.
Welcoming the delegation, President Mills called for the strengthening of Ghana-Cote d’Ivoire relations for the mutual benefit of the two countries.
Commenting on the forthcoming elections in Cote d’Ivoire, President Mills said it was the expectation of the government and people of Ghana that the polls would pass off peacefully.
“The government and people of Ghana stand solidly behind you as you prepare to conduct your elections,” he said. “We know democracy will triumph in Cote d’Ivoire,” he added.
Present at the meeting were the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Alhaji Mohammed Mumuni and Mrs Betty Mould-Iddrisu, respectively.
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Police indicts chiefs over Fulani herdsmen
Page 16: Daily Graphic, April 27, 2010.
Story: Albert K. Salia
THE Ghana Police Service has indicted some chiefs and landowners in the country for perpetuating the menace of Fulani herdsmen by taking monies and cows from them and allowing them to settle on their lands.
Withholding the names of the chiefs and landowners for the time being, the police said such nefarious activities were rampant in the Northern, Eastern, Volta, Brong Ahafo, Upper East and Upper West regions and the Accra plains, posing a serious threat to food security in the country.
A report compiled by the Ghana Police Service painted a scary picture of the situation and described the allocation of land to migrant herdsmen as a new gateway to prosperity for some chiefs and landowners.
With the escalating situation, the police report warned that soon, it would be difficult for those chiefs and landowners to share or surrender their control over land “to the political leaders at the national and local levels” for development purposes “without massive resistance”.
It said the Fulanis entered into settlement agreements with the traditional authorities and landowners, which allowed the nomads to use the resources of the area.
According to the report, which covered the year 2009, earnings from rent paid by migrant Fulani herdsmen constituted a major source of income to landowners in these impoverished areas.
“Chiefs prefer to give land to the migrant Fulani, especially the herdsmen, who are rich in cattle and can afford to make substantial payments as settlement fees,” it said.
Besides, the report said, chiefs who gave out land to herdsmen were able to acquire cattle and build up a sizeable cattle herd of their own within a relatively short time, stressing that “these chiefs and landowners contribute very little of their own time and effort in acquiring this livestock”.
It acknowledged that moves by governments in the past to identify and prosecute chiefs who collaborated with the migrant Fulanis set the local administration on a collision course with the chiefs.
It added that an atmosphere of suspicion and mistrust characterised the relationship between the locals and Fulani herdsmen as a result of the destruction of crops and consumption of food items by cattle especially during the planting season and the immediate post-harvest period.
The report, therefore, suggested a half-yearly renewal of registration of Fulanis, based on comportment, by the Ghana Immigration Service and the police.
It also suggested that the entry and exit of the migrant Fulani herdsmen should be strictly controlled while the Fulanis were restrained from possessing weapons, but should be allowed only under appropriate certification and control.
It said municipal and district assemblies must also be told in clear terms not to use revenue mobilisation as an excuse to harbour the Fulani herdsmen in their areas of jurisdiction and close their eyes to the destruction that the Fulanisd been causing to the environment.
It said Fulanis who did not want to obey the laws of the land must be shown the exit.
Story: Albert K. Salia
THE Ghana Police Service has indicted some chiefs and landowners in the country for perpetuating the menace of Fulani herdsmen by taking monies and cows from them and allowing them to settle on their lands.
Withholding the names of the chiefs and landowners for the time being, the police said such nefarious activities were rampant in the Northern, Eastern, Volta, Brong Ahafo, Upper East and Upper West regions and the Accra plains, posing a serious threat to food security in the country.
A report compiled by the Ghana Police Service painted a scary picture of the situation and described the allocation of land to migrant herdsmen as a new gateway to prosperity for some chiefs and landowners.
With the escalating situation, the police report warned that soon, it would be difficult for those chiefs and landowners to share or surrender their control over land “to the political leaders at the national and local levels” for development purposes “without massive resistance”.
It said the Fulanis entered into settlement agreements with the traditional authorities and landowners, which allowed the nomads to use the resources of the area.
According to the report, which covered the year 2009, earnings from rent paid by migrant Fulani herdsmen constituted a major source of income to landowners in these impoverished areas.
“Chiefs prefer to give land to the migrant Fulani, especially the herdsmen, who are rich in cattle and can afford to make substantial payments as settlement fees,” it said.
Besides, the report said, chiefs who gave out land to herdsmen were able to acquire cattle and build up a sizeable cattle herd of their own within a relatively short time, stressing that “these chiefs and landowners contribute very little of their own time and effort in acquiring this livestock”.
It acknowledged that moves by governments in the past to identify and prosecute chiefs who collaborated with the migrant Fulanis set the local administration on a collision course with the chiefs.
It added that an atmosphere of suspicion and mistrust characterised the relationship between the locals and Fulani herdsmen as a result of the destruction of crops and consumption of food items by cattle especially during the planting season and the immediate post-harvest period.
The report, therefore, suggested a half-yearly renewal of registration of Fulanis, based on comportment, by the Ghana Immigration Service and the police.
It also suggested that the entry and exit of the migrant Fulani herdsmen should be strictly controlled while the Fulanis were restrained from possessing weapons, but should be allowed only under appropriate certification and control.
It said municipal and district assemblies must also be told in clear terms not to use revenue mobilisation as an excuse to harbour the Fulani herdsmen in their areas of jurisdiction and close their eyes to the destruction that the Fulanisd been causing to the environment.
It said Fulanis who did not want to obey the laws of the land must be shown the exit.
Monday, April 26, 2010
Police, Immigration flush out fulani herdsmen
Page 67: Daily Graphic, April 26, 2010.
Story: Albert K. Salia
A COMBINED team of personnel from the Ghana Police Service and the Ghana Immigration Service at the weekend flushed out some Fulani herdsmen from the Agotime-Kpetoe-Batime area of the Volta Region.
Five of the leaders of the herdsmen are currently in custody in Ho, while more than 600 cattle were pushed/repulsed to Togo where they came from.
The leaders in custody are Mahamadu Fulani, Abdulai Mahamadu, Yaro Mahamadu, Tahiru Kole and Ibrahim Amadu.
The Food and Crops Division of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture is to be contacted to assess the damage caused to farms in the area.
The Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Mr Paul Tawiah Quaye, has subsequently directed all policemen in border towns to collaborate with their GIS counterparts to deal with the Fulani menace as the farming season is about to set in.
Mr Quaye has also warned traditional authorities to desist from negotiating with Fulani herdsmen to use their terrain, only for them to end up destroying the farms of their subjects.
The Director of Police Public Affairs, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Kwasi Ofori, told the Daily Graphic that the Volta Regional Police Commander, DCOP David Ampah-Benin, who led the operation, had information that some traditional leaders had allowed the cattle of the Fulani herdsmen to graze on their land.
He said the cattle had destroyed large tracts of farmland in the affected area.
According to him, the swift response from the police and the GIS helped to push back the Fulanis to Togo, where they had come from.
Regrettably, he said, some opinion leaders and chiefs often failed to notify the political and security authorities of the presence of the Fulanis until farmers started to complain.
DSP Ofori said the exercise was not a hate one against Fulanis but intended to check the wanton destruction of farms and water bodies.
He said the IGP had directed the various police commands to collaborate with the local assemblies to see how to manage those Fulani herdsmen already in the country.
Story: Albert K. Salia
A COMBINED team of personnel from the Ghana Police Service and the Ghana Immigration Service at the weekend flushed out some Fulani herdsmen from the Agotime-Kpetoe-Batime area of the Volta Region.
Five of the leaders of the herdsmen are currently in custody in Ho, while more than 600 cattle were pushed/repulsed to Togo where they came from.
The leaders in custody are Mahamadu Fulani, Abdulai Mahamadu, Yaro Mahamadu, Tahiru Kole and Ibrahim Amadu.
The Food and Crops Division of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture is to be contacted to assess the damage caused to farms in the area.
The Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Mr Paul Tawiah Quaye, has subsequently directed all policemen in border towns to collaborate with their GIS counterparts to deal with the Fulani menace as the farming season is about to set in.
Mr Quaye has also warned traditional authorities to desist from negotiating with Fulani herdsmen to use their terrain, only for them to end up destroying the farms of their subjects.
The Director of Police Public Affairs, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Kwasi Ofori, told the Daily Graphic that the Volta Regional Police Commander, DCOP David Ampah-Benin, who led the operation, had information that some traditional leaders had allowed the cattle of the Fulani herdsmen to graze on their land.
He said the cattle had destroyed large tracts of farmland in the affected area.
According to him, the swift response from the police and the GIS helped to push back the Fulanis to Togo, where they had come from.
Regrettably, he said, some opinion leaders and chiefs often failed to notify the political and security authorities of the presence of the Fulanis until farmers started to complain.
DSP Ofori said the exercise was not a hate one against Fulanis but intended to check the wanton destruction of farms and water bodies.
He said the IGP had directed the various police commands to collaborate with the local assemblies to see how to manage those Fulani herdsmen already in the country.
Friday, April 23, 2010
Robbery - Prophetess, 5 others picked up
Page 3: Daily Graphic, April 23, 2010.
Story: Albert K. Salia
FIVE persons, including a prophetess, have been picked up in connection with the robbery of two foreign visitors at a hotel at East Cantonments last Tuesday.The police have also retrieved the Nissan Sentra which the suspected robbers snatched from its owner after their car had run into a ditch.
The passport of one of the visitors, who is a female, has also been retrieved.
Those in custody are Prophetess Mama Romeo, Joseph Annonor, a mechanic, Vida Karikari, Doris Karikari and Doris Dede Tetteh.
The Nungua District Crime Officer, ASP (Dr) Philip Akanpami, told the Daily Graphic that an informant alerted the police to a vehicle being tampered with by a mechanic at the Nungua Old Cemetery on Wednesday afternoon.
He said when the police moved to the scene, Joseph Annonor, the mechanic, indicated that he had been contracted by three young men to repair the ignition, since they had lost the ignition key.
He said the mechanic then led the police to Prophetess Romeo’s residence, where the car had allegedly been parked overnight.
ASP Akanpami said the prophetess also indicated that three young ladies, Vida, Doris and Dede, who lived close by, had pleaded with her to allow their visitors to park the car in her yard, since their house was not walled.
According to him, when the prophetess led the police to the house of the three ladies, they were informed that the ladies had left for a town on the Akuapem Ridge.
He said the police later had information on the movement of the ladies, which led to their arrest.
ASP Akanpami said the case had been referred to the Accra Regional Police Headquarters for further investigations.
The Deputy Accra Regional Police Commander, ACP Christian Tetteh Yohuno, said the two men who had invited the visitors to Ghana and who had been arrested to assist in investigations had been granted bail.
Three armed robbers, on Tuesday night, attacked and robbed two foreign visitors as they entered the reception of a hotel at East Cantonments.
The suspects later snatched a vehicle near the Ghana Free Zones offices after their white Toyota Corolla, with registration number GE 8793-09, had run into a ditch.
All the personal belongings of the foreign visitors, including laptops, digital cameras and cash, were taken from them.
Story: Albert K. Salia
FIVE persons, including a prophetess, have been picked up in connection with the robbery of two foreign visitors at a hotel at East Cantonments last Tuesday.The police have also retrieved the Nissan Sentra which the suspected robbers snatched from its owner after their car had run into a ditch.
The passport of one of the visitors, who is a female, has also been retrieved.
Those in custody are Prophetess Mama Romeo, Joseph Annonor, a mechanic, Vida Karikari, Doris Karikari and Doris Dede Tetteh.
The Nungua District Crime Officer, ASP (Dr) Philip Akanpami, told the Daily Graphic that an informant alerted the police to a vehicle being tampered with by a mechanic at the Nungua Old Cemetery on Wednesday afternoon.
He said when the police moved to the scene, Joseph Annonor, the mechanic, indicated that he had been contracted by three young men to repair the ignition, since they had lost the ignition key.
He said the mechanic then led the police to Prophetess Romeo’s residence, where the car had allegedly been parked overnight.
ASP Akanpami said the prophetess also indicated that three young ladies, Vida, Doris and Dede, who lived close by, had pleaded with her to allow their visitors to park the car in her yard, since their house was not walled.
According to him, when the prophetess led the police to the house of the three ladies, they were informed that the ladies had left for a town on the Akuapem Ridge.
He said the police later had information on the movement of the ladies, which led to their arrest.
ASP Akanpami said the case had been referred to the Accra Regional Police Headquarters for further investigations.
The Deputy Accra Regional Police Commander, ACP Christian Tetteh Yohuno, said the two men who had invited the visitors to Ghana and who had been arrested to assist in investigations had been granted bail.
Three armed robbers, on Tuesday night, attacked and robbed two foreign visitors as they entered the reception of a hotel at East Cantonments.
The suspects later snatched a vehicle near the Ghana Free Zones offices after their white Toyota Corolla, with registration number GE 8793-09, had run into a ditch.
All the personal belongings of the foreign visitors, including laptops, digital cameras and cash, were taken from them.
Police to probe death of deputy minister's wife
Page 17: Daily Graphic, April 23, 2010.
Story: Albert K. Salia
THE Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Mr Paul Tawiah Quaye, has ordered investigations into the death of the wife of a Deputy Minister of Energy, Alhaji Inusah Fuseini, at the Police Hospital.
The woman was alleged to have died on Wednesday during child birth at the Police Hospital in Accra through negligence on the part of some medical staff.
The Director-General of Police Intelligence and Professional Standards Bureau (PIPS), DCOP Timothy Ashiley, told the Daily Graphic yesterday that the IGP had been alarmed by the news and asked that it should be investigated.
He said the news came as a surprise, especially when research published recently indicated that the Police Hospital had the best maternal health standards in the country.
He explained that it was to ensure that standards and best practices were maintained at the hospital that the IGP had ordered PIPS to investigate.
DCOP Ashiley said with the exception of one more person to be talked to, a lot had been done by way of preliminary investigations and gave the assurance that by close of day today, some findings would have been made.
Some family members have expressed disquiet over the conduct of the hospital staff and demanded a post mortem before the late Mrs Fuseini was buried.
Story: Albert K. Salia
THE Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Mr Paul Tawiah Quaye, has ordered investigations into the death of the wife of a Deputy Minister of Energy, Alhaji Inusah Fuseini, at the Police Hospital.
The woman was alleged to have died on Wednesday during child birth at the Police Hospital in Accra through negligence on the part of some medical staff.
The Director-General of Police Intelligence and Professional Standards Bureau (PIPS), DCOP Timothy Ashiley, told the Daily Graphic yesterday that the IGP had been alarmed by the news and asked that it should be investigated.
He said the news came as a surprise, especially when research published recently indicated that the Police Hospital had the best maternal health standards in the country.
He explained that it was to ensure that standards and best practices were maintained at the hospital that the IGP had ordered PIPS to investigate.
DCOP Ashiley said with the exception of one more person to be talked to, a lot had been done by way of preliminary investigations and gave the assurance that by close of day today, some findings would have been made.
Some family members have expressed disquiet over the conduct of the hospital staff and demanded a post mortem before the late Mrs Fuseini was buried.
Britain confident in our economy
Page 32: Daily Graphic, April 23, 2010.
Story: Albert K. Salia
BRITAIN has expressed confidence in the prospects of Ghana’s economic growth and development.
The British High Commissioner to Ghana, Dr Nicholas Westcott, said the confidence was buoyed by the number of British companies doing business in Ghana and the interest shown by more British firms to do business in the country.
Speaking at a reception to commemorate the Queen’s birthday in Accra on Wednesday, Dr Westcott noted, “Land Rover is re-launching itself on the Ghanaian market with its latest and best products next month and a few days later Virgin Atlantic will launch its first service between Heathrow and Accra, demonstrating continued British commitment to the prospects for Ghana’s economic growth and development.”
He said trade between Ghana and Britain was nearly six times the size of aid flows, amounting to $500 million a year.
He acknowledged the tremendous contributions of Tullow Oil and Vodafone in bringing technology and skills to Ghana.
“Both companies are committed not just to commercial activities but to Ghana as a country. Tullow’s corporate social responsibility programme has helped it to build links with communities in the Western Region and the Vodafone Foundation is supporting one of the most inspiring institutions, the Right to Dream Academy, for young sportsmen,” he said.
Dr Westcott said the British Department For International Development (DFID) programmed support to Ghana rose to £86 million over the past year, with much of it focused on the health and educational sectors which were key to Ghana’s future.
He said the British government had also supported private sector development, civil society, social protection for the poorest, better management of public finances and actions that reinforced democratic accountability.
According to him, the British Council continued to focus particularly on strengthening links between higher educational institutions and schools in the UK and Ghana with the view to helping young Ghanaians to develop their skills for their own benefit and that of their country.
He expressed happiness over the closer co-operation between the UK and Ghana in the fight against drugs and crime and in managing irregular migration.
The High Commissioner said Ghana and the UK were also working together to promote stability in the sub-region.
He said after working hand-in-hand with Ghana at the climate change conference to put in place the “fast start” finance initiative, the British Government was looking forward to providing funding for Ghana’s own framework for sustainable development.
The Minister of Trade and Industry, Ms Hannah Tetteh, said the interest of British firms to invest in Ghana attested to their confidence in the resilience and growth of the economy.
She pledged the government’s commitment to manage the economy responsibly and facilitate an enabling environment that would encourage more investments from the UK and elsewhere to boost bilateral trade.
She commended the British Government for its friendship and co-operation and for the various forms of technical assistance and aid provided for Ghana over the years.
Story: Albert K. Salia
BRITAIN has expressed confidence in the prospects of Ghana’s economic growth and development.
The British High Commissioner to Ghana, Dr Nicholas Westcott, said the confidence was buoyed by the number of British companies doing business in Ghana and the interest shown by more British firms to do business in the country.
Speaking at a reception to commemorate the Queen’s birthday in Accra on Wednesday, Dr Westcott noted, “Land Rover is re-launching itself on the Ghanaian market with its latest and best products next month and a few days later Virgin Atlantic will launch its first service between Heathrow and Accra, demonstrating continued British commitment to the prospects for Ghana’s economic growth and development.”
He said trade between Ghana and Britain was nearly six times the size of aid flows, amounting to $500 million a year.
He acknowledged the tremendous contributions of Tullow Oil and Vodafone in bringing technology and skills to Ghana.
“Both companies are committed not just to commercial activities but to Ghana as a country. Tullow’s corporate social responsibility programme has helped it to build links with communities in the Western Region and the Vodafone Foundation is supporting one of the most inspiring institutions, the Right to Dream Academy, for young sportsmen,” he said.
Dr Westcott said the British Department For International Development (DFID) programmed support to Ghana rose to £86 million over the past year, with much of it focused on the health and educational sectors which were key to Ghana’s future.
He said the British government had also supported private sector development, civil society, social protection for the poorest, better management of public finances and actions that reinforced democratic accountability.
According to him, the British Council continued to focus particularly on strengthening links between higher educational institutions and schools in the UK and Ghana with the view to helping young Ghanaians to develop their skills for their own benefit and that of their country.
He expressed happiness over the closer co-operation between the UK and Ghana in the fight against drugs and crime and in managing irregular migration.
The High Commissioner said Ghana and the UK were also working together to promote stability in the sub-region.
He said after working hand-in-hand with Ghana at the climate change conference to put in place the “fast start” finance initiative, the British Government was looking forward to providing funding for Ghana’s own framework for sustainable development.
The Minister of Trade and Industry, Ms Hannah Tetteh, said the interest of British firms to invest in Ghana attested to their confidence in the resilience and growth of the economy.
She pledged the government’s commitment to manage the economy responsibly and facilitate an enabling environment that would encourage more investments from the UK and elsewhere to boost bilateral trade.
She commended the British Government for its friendship and co-operation and for the various forms of technical assistance and aid provided for Ghana over the years.
Thursday, April 22, 2010
They are for court today
Front Page: Daily Graphic, April 22, 2010.
Story: Albert K. Salia
THE former Chief Executive of the Ghana@50 Secretariat, Dr Charles Wereko-Brobby, and a former Chief of Staff, Mr Kwadwo Mpiani, are to appear in court to face charges of wilfully causing financial loss to the state.
The Attorney-General is expected to read out the full charges to the two men when they appear at the Commercial Court today.
The two men were officially charged when they responded to an invitation to the Headquarters of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) yesterday.
Sources at the CID Headquarters told the Daily Graphic that Dr Wereko-Brobby had gone there in the company of his lawyer, Mr Akoto Ampaw, while Mr Egbert Faibille accompanied Mr Mpiani.
They said the two men had indicated that whatever they had done had been in the line of their duty.
Counsel for Mr Mpiani, Mr Faibille, confirmed to the Daily Graphic soon after they had left the CID Headquarters that his client and Dr Wereko-Brobby had been officially charged.
He said they would be in court today to listen to whatever was there for them.
The government on Wednesday accepted the recommendations of the commission of inquiry into the Ghana@50 celebrations and directed that the two men be prosecuted.
Story: Albert K. Salia
THE former Chief Executive of the Ghana@50 Secretariat, Dr Charles Wereko-Brobby, and a former Chief of Staff, Mr Kwadwo Mpiani, are to appear in court to face charges of wilfully causing financial loss to the state.
The Attorney-General is expected to read out the full charges to the two men when they appear at the Commercial Court today.
The two men were officially charged when they responded to an invitation to the Headquarters of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) yesterday.
Sources at the CID Headquarters told the Daily Graphic that Dr Wereko-Brobby had gone there in the company of his lawyer, Mr Akoto Ampaw, while Mr Egbert Faibille accompanied Mr Mpiani.
They said the two men had indicated that whatever they had done had been in the line of their duty.
Counsel for Mr Mpiani, Mr Faibille, confirmed to the Daily Graphic soon after they had left the CID Headquarters that his client and Dr Wereko-Brobby had been officially charged.
He said they would be in court today to listen to whatever was there for them.
The government on Wednesday accepted the recommendations of the commission of inquiry into the Ghana@50 celebrations and directed that the two men be prosecuted.
Major changes in police hierarchy
Page 49: Daily Graphic, April 22, 2010.
Story: Albert K. Salia
THE Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Mr Paul Tawiah Quaye, has announced major changes in some top positions of the Ghana Police Service as part of efforts to inject efficiency into the service.
As part of the changes, the Director-General of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID), DCOP Frank Adu-Poku, is to hand over to DCOP Prosper Kwame Agblor, who is currently on secondment with the INTERPOL Office, Abidjan.
DCOP Adu-Poku will now be responsible for Technical Services at the Police Headquarters.
The changes, which are to take immediate effect, have Commissioner of Police (COP) Joana Osei-Poku, the Director-General, Human Resource Development, swapping position with DCOP Dr Peter Alex Wiredu, the Director-General of Administration.
DCOP Gyeabour Ofosu-Mensah, currently the Director-General for Research, Planning and Technical Services, moves to Welfare, while the Eastern Regional Police Commander, DCOP Stephen Andoh-Kwofie, moves to the Central Region as the Regional Commander.
The Deputy Brong Ahafo Regional Police Commander, DCOP Ransford Moses Ninson, is to take over as the Eastern Regional Police Commander, with DCOP Robert Mark Azu, the second-in-command at the Western Region, moving to the Police Headquarters in Accra.
DCOP Yaagy Akuribah, the Chief Staff Officer at the Police Headquarters, is to take over as the Commandant of the Police College, with the current Commandant, ACP Nana Asare Oware Pinkro III, moving to the Western Region as the Deputy Regional Police Commander.
The Akropong Divisional Police Commander, DCOP (Ms) Mina Ayim, is to take over as the Director-General, Research and Planning, at the Police Headquarters, while ACP Kwadwo Boapeah Otchere is to take over as the Chief Staff Officer at the Police Headquarters.
Mr Quaye told the Daily Graphic that the changes were in line with his policy to strengthen and inject efficiency into some of the sectors in the hierarchy of the Police Administration.
He explained that the changes formed part of the performance re-engineering he sought to bring on board to ensure that the police employed approved and accepted practices in the delivery of services to all stakeholders.
Mr Quaye said the changes did not mean that those who were changed were inefficient but that they were needed in their new areas.
This is the second time the IGP has made changes in leadership positions of the Ghana Police Service since assuming duty almost a year ago.
Story: Albert K. Salia
THE Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Mr Paul Tawiah Quaye, has announced major changes in some top positions of the Ghana Police Service as part of efforts to inject efficiency into the service.
As part of the changes, the Director-General of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID), DCOP Frank Adu-Poku, is to hand over to DCOP Prosper Kwame Agblor, who is currently on secondment with the INTERPOL Office, Abidjan.
DCOP Adu-Poku will now be responsible for Technical Services at the Police Headquarters.
The changes, which are to take immediate effect, have Commissioner of Police (COP) Joana Osei-Poku, the Director-General, Human Resource Development, swapping position with DCOP Dr Peter Alex Wiredu, the Director-General of Administration.
DCOP Gyeabour Ofosu-Mensah, currently the Director-General for Research, Planning and Technical Services, moves to Welfare, while the Eastern Regional Police Commander, DCOP Stephen Andoh-Kwofie, moves to the Central Region as the Regional Commander.
The Deputy Brong Ahafo Regional Police Commander, DCOP Ransford Moses Ninson, is to take over as the Eastern Regional Police Commander, with DCOP Robert Mark Azu, the second-in-command at the Western Region, moving to the Police Headquarters in Accra.
DCOP Yaagy Akuribah, the Chief Staff Officer at the Police Headquarters, is to take over as the Commandant of the Police College, with the current Commandant, ACP Nana Asare Oware Pinkro III, moving to the Western Region as the Deputy Regional Police Commander.
The Akropong Divisional Police Commander, DCOP (Ms) Mina Ayim, is to take over as the Director-General, Research and Planning, at the Police Headquarters, while ACP Kwadwo Boapeah Otchere is to take over as the Chief Staff Officer at the Police Headquarters.
Mr Quaye told the Daily Graphic that the changes were in line with his policy to strengthen and inject efficiency into some of the sectors in the hierarchy of the Police Administration.
He explained that the changes formed part of the performance re-engineering he sought to bring on board to ensure that the police employed approved and accepted practices in the delivery of services to all stakeholders.
Mr Quaye said the changes did not mean that those who were changed were inefficient but that they were needed in their new areas.
This is the second time the IGP has made changes in leadership positions of the Ghana Police Service since assuming duty almost a year ago.
Bawku - More than 80 lives lost
Page 64: Daily Graphic, April 22, 2010.
Story: Albert K. Salia
MORE than 80 lives have been lost in the Bawku conflict since December 31, 2007 when the internecine conflict between the Kusasis and Mamprusis re-ignited.
Thirty people have also received gunshot wounds as a result of the conflict.
The conflict has further recorded 37 cases of arson involving 14 houses, five shops, 13 vehicles, two motorbikes and a communication centre.
So far, more than 10 people are in custody for their alleged roles in murders and attempted murders.
Seven other persons are on the wanted list of the police to assist in investigations.
The Upper East Regional Police Commander, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Bright Oduro, told the Daily Graphic in an interview that the death toll could be more because some of the deaths were not brought to the notice of the police.
He said since December 2009, 11 official deaths and 14 wounded cases had been reported to the police and explained that some of the killings were related to the conflict, while others were linked to robbery.
ACP Oduro noted that one of two persons in custody for taking part in barricading the Garu road and attacking travellers, for instance, did what he did on retaliatory grounds because the suspect, identified only as Samadu, had seven of his relatives killed in the Buabila massacre in June 2008 in which 17 women and children were hacked to death.
With regard to some of the criminal killings, he alleged that suspect Seidu Awale was behind the killing of Felix Asibi Frafra, a member of staff of the Bawku Office of the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), on June 1, 2009.
ACP Oduro said three other persons — Ibrahim Taller, Zab and Medirel — were wanted in connection with the robbery and murder of a businessman, Suraju Ablabila, on January 30, 2010.
He said two other persons — Muniru Gariba and Muniru Welda — were wanted in connection with the murder of Alhaji Rufai Sumani on the Bawku-Sankasi road on September 6, 2009, while Mohammadu Iddrisu, alias Bush Rambo, was wanted in connection with the attempted murder of Fuseini Moro on October 29, 2009.
The Upper East Regional Police boss said an ex-soldier, identified only as Badim, alias Tanko, alias Most killer, was wanted in connection with the murder of Karim Oga in 2008.
ACP Oduro said the police were facing a number of challenges in dealing with the killings in Bawku.
He said apart from the fact that the people were not volunteering information to assist the police, the perpetrators also took advantage of the darkness in Bawku to carry out their dastardly acts.
He noted that the perpetrators lived among the people but the people refused to identify them to the police and cited the fact that very often some of the people killed were hurriedly buried, without notifying the police.
He said the chiefs and opinion leaders did not advise the youth to stop the killings and counter attacks.
ACP Oduro said the link roads were also very bad and highly unmotorable, making it difficult for the police to move in swiftly to deal with attacks.
Story: Albert K. Salia
MORE than 80 lives have been lost in the Bawku conflict since December 31, 2007 when the internecine conflict between the Kusasis and Mamprusis re-ignited.
Thirty people have also received gunshot wounds as a result of the conflict.
The conflict has further recorded 37 cases of arson involving 14 houses, five shops, 13 vehicles, two motorbikes and a communication centre.
So far, more than 10 people are in custody for their alleged roles in murders and attempted murders.
Seven other persons are on the wanted list of the police to assist in investigations.
The Upper East Regional Police Commander, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Bright Oduro, told the Daily Graphic in an interview that the death toll could be more because some of the deaths were not brought to the notice of the police.
He said since December 2009, 11 official deaths and 14 wounded cases had been reported to the police and explained that some of the killings were related to the conflict, while others were linked to robbery.
ACP Oduro noted that one of two persons in custody for taking part in barricading the Garu road and attacking travellers, for instance, did what he did on retaliatory grounds because the suspect, identified only as Samadu, had seven of his relatives killed in the Buabila massacre in June 2008 in which 17 women and children were hacked to death.
With regard to some of the criminal killings, he alleged that suspect Seidu Awale was behind the killing of Felix Asibi Frafra, a member of staff of the Bawku Office of the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), on June 1, 2009.
ACP Oduro said three other persons — Ibrahim Taller, Zab and Medirel — were wanted in connection with the robbery and murder of a businessman, Suraju Ablabila, on January 30, 2010.
He said two other persons — Muniru Gariba and Muniru Welda — were wanted in connection with the murder of Alhaji Rufai Sumani on the Bawku-Sankasi road on September 6, 2009, while Mohammadu Iddrisu, alias Bush Rambo, was wanted in connection with the attempted murder of Fuseini Moro on October 29, 2009.
The Upper East Regional Police boss said an ex-soldier, identified only as Badim, alias Tanko, alias Most killer, was wanted in connection with the murder of Karim Oga in 2008.
ACP Oduro said the police were facing a number of challenges in dealing with the killings in Bawku.
He said apart from the fact that the people were not volunteering information to assist the police, the perpetrators also took advantage of the darkness in Bawku to carry out their dastardly acts.
He noted that the perpetrators lived among the people but the people refused to identify them to the police and cited the fact that very often some of the people killed were hurriedly buried, without notifying the police.
He said the chiefs and opinion leaders did not advise the youth to stop the killings and counter attacks.
ACP Oduro said the link roads were also very bad and highly unmotorable, making it difficult for the police to move in swiftly to deal with attacks.
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