Government to set up special security agency - Akufo-Addo hints

Government is in the process of establishing a special security agency devoted solely to gathering intelligence on the activities of crime groups, syndicates and potential trouble makers, President Akufo-Addo has said.

The President announced this on Wednesday evening at a meeting with the Council of Independent Churches at the Jubilee House in Accra and said that the establishment of a domestic intelligence gathering agency would enable the security agencies enforce the law swiftly

A major challenge to the fight against crime in the country, as observed by the President, is the absence of an agency whose main responsibility is to gather intelligence on the identity, location and activities of criminals and potential trouble makers.

“If we have an organisation that can penetrate those crime groups, it strengthens the hand of the state in dealing with them,” he said.

He said although the country had adequate laws, their enforcement by the security agencies had not been as sharp as expected and indicated the goal of his administration was to ensure that when crimes were committed, the security agencies would be able to deal with them in a swift manner.

“Sometimes there is too long a gap between the deed and the arrest of those who are responsible for it,” he said and added that the security was undergoing institutional arrangement to help address the problem.

The President assured the religious group of his administration’s unwavering commitment to devise methods and new approaches to enhance the fight against crime and punish perpetrators severely and make communities safer.

Also as part of measures to improve security in the country, he said the government was in the process of recruiting 4,000 new officers into the police service to beef up security in the country and reduce the police-citizens’ ratio.

He said the police had been equipped with vehicles and other logistics required to enhance the fight against crime in the country and pledged the government’s commitment to continue to resource the police.

President Akufo-Addo touched on the fight against political vigilantism in the country, briefed the council on the actions being taken by the government to address the problem, and called on the religious leaders to help the government address the issue.

He said the government would continue to develop the country as a peaceful democratic state where the thumb and the ballot box were instruments for deciding the governance, and where citizens exercised their democratic rights without fear or intimidation.

According to him, the phenomenon of vigilantism would be brought to a conclusion if citizens supported the efforts being made to enact a special law to deal specifically with it.

“I believe that when issues take on certain significance, you try to develop a legislative response that is adequate in dealing with the matter. Sooner or later, the law making process will get us a good law,” he said.

The council, led by Rev. Addison, commended the government’s intervention in ensuring a peaceful resolution to the Dagbon crises and urged it to continue to work to maintain the peace and stability of the country.