The East Legon Hills Residents Association in the Greater Accra Region on Independence Day donated a motorbike worth five thousand Ghana Cedis to the police post in their vicinity to aid in the fight against incessant robberies in the area.
According to the residents, the donation forms part of their contribution to augment government’s efforts toward the total security of the state.
Speaking to Citi News after the donation, the Vice President of the East Legon Hills Residents Association, Tawiah Ben-Ahmed, said the government alone can not adequately equip the security services hence the need for citizens’ intervention.
“Today, for us its safety first and we believe that the safety of ourselves and our community cannot be only the responsibility of the government and the Ghana Police Service”.
“We have a big ambition of walling the whole community but we are not there yet. Until we get there we think that we have to support the police to have easy access to our residents. We are starting with a motorbike, Insha Allah, maybe one day it will be a vehicle or maybe upgrading this police post to a police station so that we can have more police personnel here” he said
Mr. Tawiah added that, the ceremony also availed an ideal opportunity for residents to familiarize themselves with the police personnel in the area.
On his part, the Lakeside District Police Commander, ASP Moses Osakonor, under whose jurisdiction the East Legon Police Post is located commended the residents for the gesture. He noted that the donation will improve security in the estate through enhanced patrol and rapid response to the calls of the residents.
He however called on other citizens and organizations to support the police with both information and logistics to enable the service deliver on its mandate.
GHc800m for police
President Akufo-Addo during the State of the Nation Address in February 2018, indicated that government will allocate some GH¢ 800million to the Ghana Police Service to ensure improvement in its operations.
He said the amount will be used for the procurement of modern policing equipment and gadgets including helicopters and drones to enhance the capacity of the service in dealing with crime in the country.
“The police, the prosecution services and the judiciary owe it to all of us to make us feel and be safe. I do not need to repeat that crime wears no political colours, and I am certain that message has gone down to all…The law enforcement agencies will crack down very hard on all those who would disturb the peace of our nation…We will give the Police the resources they need to do their job,” Akufo-Addo added.
‘Wave of robbery’
There appears to be a heightened wave of robbery attacks in the country in recent months with some of the worst cases reported in the last few weeks.
A number of incidents have involved brazen attacks by the robbers on individuals organisations in broad daylight.
A Lebanese was shot and killed at Tema Industrial Area this week with the assailants making away with GHS 200,000 he had withdrawn from a bank minutes earlier
‘We’re in control’
Meanwhile, the Ghana Police Service has given indications that it is in control of the situation and will go every length to protect the citizenry.
Following the recent developments, the government, together with the various security agencies, announced new steps and directives to address the situation.
The measures include an order for forex bureaus and financial institutions to install CCTV cameras at their workplaces as well as improved police visibility in crime-prone areas.
The top hierarchy of Ghana Police Service has also been reshuffled by the IGP, David Asante-Apeatu with a number of notable changes including George Akuffo Dampare, Director General of Police Operations, being reassigned to head the Police Research and Planning Department.
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By: Anass S. Seidu/citifmonline.com/Ghana