Alhaji Asoma Banda, Chairman of the Antrak Group, has pedge 100 million towards the establshment of a Crime Prevention Foundation.
The monies accruing to the foundation will be used to purchase police vehicles, modern communication equipment among other items, for the Ghana Police Service.
This is expected to contribute to the enhanced mobility and effectiveness of the police, and strengthen the service to effectively combat the rising crime wave in the country. Information are also expected to benefit from the largesse of the foundation, while it will provide incentives for personnel of the service.
The foundation will be managed by Alhaji Asoma Banda, Dr.Baffour Agyeman-Duah, Associate Executive Director of the Ghana Centre for Democratic Development; Mrs Matilda Obeng Ansong, Deputy Managing Director, Ghana Commercial Bank; Mr. Kwesi Nketia, a Lawyer and a retired diplomat; and Mr. Fred Yeboah, a journalist and a public relations practitioner. Besides the pledge by Alhaji Asoma Banda, a US based Ghanaian, Mr. Kwesi Yeboah Amofah, and Mr. Dele Momodu, a publisher and Editor in Chief of Ovation Magazine have contributed 10 million and $150 respectively to the non-profit and non-partisan foundation.
Alhaji Asoma Bandaa, who announced this during the launching of the foundation in Accra yesterday ,said he decided to set up the foundation to help the government to provide the Ghana Police Service with the needed resources to discharge its duties efficiently and effectively, in the country. 'I am calling on all Ghanaians the business community, traders diplomats, and private companies, oil companies, chiefs, pastors, mallams and the banks, indeed every Ghanaian, irrespective of age ,gender, vocation, and political persuasion, to join me in this national crusade to eliminate armed robbery and serial killings in our society' he said. He noted that if one million patriotic and dedicated people in the country contribute 1,000 a month, the fund would generate 1 billion monthly to help the Ghana Police Service.
'The service is currently under-resourced. It woefully lacks logistical support. They have not got sufficient modern high- speed vehicles suitable for police work. The service is bereft of modern high-tech communication gadgets.
The policemen and women are ill equipped, and above all, poorly motivated, ha stressed. Conversly, he said, the criminals the police are battling against are armed with sophisticated equipment, hence the need for the police to be properly resourced to enable them to confront and overpower the criminals. He said the upsurge of atrocities activities of criminals is breeding an atmosphere of insecurity and panic which does not auger well for the images and well-being of the country. According to Alhaji Asoma Banda, the incidence of armed robbery has far- reaching and debilitating consequences for the nation in its quest to entice foreign investors to the country. 'You will realise that the spectre of armed robbery has recently exacerbated . The criminals are becoming audacious and elusive by the day , while expanding their modus operandi from residential areas to forex bureaux, to fuel filling sations, to hotels, to the banks and to the high-ways, to hospitals', he lamented.
Alhaji Asoma Banda said the issue of unravelling the mystery surrounding armed robbery and serial killings is a big challenges facing Ghanaians, 'and we must collectively tackle it' On his part, Dr. Baffour Agyeman-Duah said the foundation is purely a civil society initiative and is intended to supplement government 's efforts at equipping the police. He said a board of trustees, made up of respectable citizens and senior police officers, will supervise the disbursement of the fund and indicate the type of equipment the police will need.
He said the equipment will be bought or the funds will be disbursed bases on request put in y the Police Administration and how much funds are available. Dr. Agyeman -Duah said names of contributors will be published in the media , so will the audited accounts of the foundation, for public scrutiny
