Government gives Police 109 more vehicles

Ghana’s Vice-President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, on Thursday, 6 June 2019 handed over some 109 multiple-purpose vehicles comprising buses, tow trucks, water tankers, ambulances, troopers and Pickup trucks to the Ghana Police Service (GPS).

The presentation, which took place at the Police Headquarters in Accra, is part of the efforts by the government to re-tool the police service under the ongoing Police Transformation Programme spearheaded by the Inspector General of Police, (IGP) David Asante-Apeatu.

Before the presentation, Dr Bawumia, in a brief remark, indicated that the government has taken delivery of a Bill of Lading for another 109 vehicles which would be arriving in the country in the next three months.

"Upon coming into office, we were quite frankly surprised about the level of logistical challenges that the police service was facing in terms of logistics and equipment. This is why the President made it a point that we should do everything possible to make sure that the necessary logistics in terms of vehicles, equipment, ammunition and so on are provided in an adequate measure," Dr Bawumia said.

He added that: "It is for this reason that you are seeing this major ramp up of provision of vehicles to the Ghana Police Service".

So far, the government, since 2017, according to the Vice-President, has presented 481 vehicles to the police service. He explained further that the President is of the view that those who have joined the service have put their lives on the line for Ghana and, so, "Mother Ghana must provide for the police service the adequate logistics to protect themselves and to defend the security of the nation".

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo on 26 October 2018, presented 200 Toyota Camry saloon vehicles to the police at the forecourt of the Police Headquarters and made a pledge that the executive arm of government will offer its full support to the police to allow them to perform their duties of maintaining law and order. To that end, Nana Akufo-Addo said the government will continue to mobilise whatever assistance it can to enable the police to provide the Ghanaian people, the kind of service the citizenry deserves.

"Ultimately, the aim of the government is to strengthen the police and fashion it into an honest, disciplined, efficient and robust force," the President pointed out during the earlier presentation.