Aflao is becoming a den of criminals-Zigah

Accra, March 15,GNA- The nation's foremost eastern border town of Aflao is gradually becoming a den of criminals, Mr Albert Zigah, Member for Ketu South, said on Wednesday.

He said robbers and other criminals have made the town their home where they harass and rob travellers who pass through it.

The member, who was making a statement on the "Challenges of Security at the Eastern Border of the Country-Aflao and its Environs" said:" there are a series of daily theft cases coupled occasionally with armed robbery at Aflao."

"It is very sympathetic to see travellers and traders of the sub-region weeping and crying like babies when they fall victim to attacks by these hoodlums."

He said at the height of their criminal lust, the robbers take anything valuable, shoot to maim and kill.

The member called for a special intervention fund, which would help in the provision of resources to all the security agencies operating along the Ghana-Togo border.

The Member asked that four-wheel vehicles should be provided to the security forces for patrol and security work.

He called for the expansion and rehabilitation of the Aflao Police Station which, since its establishment in the 1960's had not undergone any major extension or rehabilitation.

According to the Member, a nearby Police Station at Agbozume, which had been housed in a private rented premises since 1964, lost one of its rifles when it was invaded early last year. The Member commended officials of the Customs, Excise and Preventive Service (CEPS), Ghana Immigration Services and the Ghana Institute of Freight Forwarders for helping travellers who fall prey to criminals. The Deputy Minister of the Interior, Captain retired Nkrabea Effa Dartey, said government is recruiting more police personnel to feed the various stations.

He said an extensive programme for rehabilitating run-down police stations would come on board soon and promised that Aflao Police Station would be counted among the lot.

Later in the day, the House adopted a report on the Civil Aviation Regulations, 2005(LI 1818).

The Legislative Instrument seeks to update the legal framework in which the aviation industry operates in the Ghana.