Marine Police Unit to be re-established

Page 32: Daily Graphic, April 14, 2010.
Police Marine Unit (security agencies)
Story: Albert K. Salia
THE Police Administration is to re-establish the Marine Police Unit to provide security at the various oil sites and deal resolutely with crimes associated with the oil and gas industry.
The unit is also to enable the police to position themselves to deal with crimes such as diversion, bunkering, sabotage, arson, piracy and hostage-taking, as well as smuggling of weapons, narcotic drugs and other contraband items at 304 landing sites in 185 villages along the coastline.
The unit will also support the Railways and Ports Unit of police, whose work is concentrated at the Tema and Takoradi ports.
The Police Administration is also collaborating with other security agencies to fashion a holistic framework of a security network aimed at giving maximum protection to both the offshore and onshore infrastructural facilities, equipment, oil and gas resources, as well the human resources that would be deployed on the platforms, rigs, sites and the surrounding environments.
Speaking at the beginning of a four-day capacity building workshop for the core personnel of the unit, the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Mr Paul Tawiah Quaye, said the training would provide the personnel with knowledge and skills relevant to policing in the oil and gas industry.
Mr Quaye said whilst many had high hopes of economic breakthroughs emerging from the oil industry, others were very sceptical and pointed fingers to the possible adverse ramification arising from the upcoming industry.
“Undoubtedly, these fears, trepidation and anxieties are the products of careful observations made from the rather unpleasant experiences of the situations in other African countries,” he noted.
Given the operational dynamics and complexities of the modern oil and gas industry and the wealth of experiences and daunting challenges of countries such as Nigeria, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon and Libya, Mr Quaye said it was urgent for Ghana to develop and build the requisite human resource capacities in preparation for the commencement of business activities associated with the oil industry.
He said the decision to re-establish the Marine Police Unit was part of some pre-emptive measures adopted after a careful situation analysis of some security threats envisaged that were likely to be encountered with a booming offshore oil and gas industry.
Mr Quaye said Ghana’s portion of the Gulf of Guinea would become an extremely busy area with its attendant conflicting interests due to the tremendous increase in the number of sea-going vessels.
He noted that the local fisher folk, whose environment would be adversely affected, would be aggrieved, a situation which could precipitate possible open confrontations.
The IGP said the multiplicity of businesses and influx of wealthy expatriates would have its potential conflicts of business and socio-cultural interests, complex financial transactions and an increased fraudulent undertakings, which would become fertile grounds for business rivalries and associated vindictive and retaliatory crimes.
He said the Police Administration also anticipated that the high demand for land by so-called business investors in the oil find area would trigger off land disputes and conflicts between clans and families.
According to him, the fallout of those developments would create operational challenges for the maintenance of law and order.
Mr Quaye, however, gave the assurance that the Ghana Police Service was up to the task as it already had a well-established Railways and Ports Unit with its dominant operational activities centred at the Tema and Takoradi ports.
He said a Divisional Police Command with the necessary infrastructure and human resources in the Half Assini area was to be created to deal with the anticipated tasks and challenges ahead.
The head of Conflict Prevention Management and Resolution Department (CPMRD) of the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Centre, Dr Kwesi Aning, who is a resource person, commended the Police Administration for its foresight in establishing the various units to deal with the challenges associated with the oil find.