Neglect caused Delta Force attack - NPP executive

Lack of communication between executives of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and their grassroots base could be the reason for the misconduct of the Delta Force, a private security arm within the governing party, Joe Donkor, Second Vice Chairman of the NPP in the Central Region, has said.

According to him, a number of persons at the grassroots, including members of the vigilante group, believe they worked tirelessly to secure electoral victory for the NPP in last year’s polls but have been neglected by the top hierarchy of the party, hence the resort to such actions to register their frustration.

He, however, condemned the attacks on the court by members of the Delta Force, saying this “is unacceptable and must be condemned by all”.

Speaking in an interview with Chief Jerry Forson, host of Ghana Yensom, on Accra100.5FM on Monday April 10, Mr Donkor said: “Lack of communication among the NPP executives and grassroots may be the cause.

“We may have good plans for them but if you don’t explain to the people that we are in the process of forming the government and that when we are done we will attend to their needs they will misbehave, if we talk to them I’m sure they will understand and wait for their time to come. But if you don’t do that they will also murmur, thinking that they have been neglected.

“Let me stress that we all condemn the action but there should be good communication between the executives and the grassroots.”

Meanwhile, the Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference has condemned the assault on a Kumasi Circuit Court by pro-government vigilante group Delta Force.

The Delta Force in Kumasi harassed President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s regional security appointee and also stormed a court to free 13 of their colleagues who were standing trial for the assault.

The Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference, in a statement, said: “The Catholic Bishops, hereby condemn in no uncertain terms the incident of raiding the said court and will like to call on all and sundry to do same.”

The Conference said such acts of wanton disregard for the legitimate work of state institutions and state officials only go to discredit the hard-won democratic credentials of the country.

The Conference, however, commended the Minister for the Interior, Ambrose Dery, and the Inspector General of Police, David Asante-Apeatu, for their prompt response to the Kumasi incident. “We equally acknowledge their commitment to deal with any person or group that breaks the law irrespective of their political affiliation and urge them not to relent in their efforts to bring the perpetrators to book,” it urged.

According to the Conference, dealing with lawbreakers irrespective of political affiliation will serve as a deterrent to the public and send a clear signal to such other vigilante groups “who believe they can act with impunity and vicious disrespect for legitimate authority”.

The Conference called on the constitutionally recognised security agencies and institutions to enforce, without fear or favour, the laws of the land and ensure the safety of life and property of all Ghanaians.

They urged the security agencies to intensify their work of intelligence gathering in order to act promptly to avert such incidents in the future and also called on Ghanaians to be law abiding and never take for granted the peace and stability in the country.