Banker-to-banker operators in the Kumasi metropolis are demanding the head of the Ashanti regional Police Commander who they allege is toying with the security of the region he is duty-bound to secure.
The banker-to-banker operators claim the commander, Mr. George Asiamah, Assistant Commissioner of Police and one Mr. Boateng, Assistant Superintendent of Police in charge of the regional Police Striking Force receive a weekly dole of two million cedis from them so they can engage in their outlawed business without Police swoops.
Their refusal according to a letter, which they fired to the Regional Minister, results in incessant raids at their places of operation. Now they have vowed to abrogate the deal and want the man to be brought to book.
In the 10th August 2001 edition of this paper we carried the concerns of a reader who queried the conduct of Mr. Asiamah and called for an investigation to ascertain the truth. The reader cited the case of the release of a truck-load of chain sawn timber on the orders of Mr. Asiamah, which had been impounded by his subordinate officers after they rejected an offer of a four million cedi bribe from one Diana Boateng.
The reader also mentioned another instance where the Anti-Narcotics Unit of the regional police arrested a M.A.N. Diesel Truck with registration No AS 58 25D with illegal timber products on 26th June 2001, but Mr. Asiamah and his crime officer, the reader alleged, released it after an offer of bribe. The reader asked what action had been taken against the regional police commander when he allegedly, attempted stealing a Mercedes Benz which had been impounded at the central police station.
Perhaps inundated with this catalogue of allegations against a top police officer like Mr. Asiamah, the Regional Security Council of which he is a member has started probing the officer. Should he fail to extricate himself from this web of allegations he certainly would cut short his tenure with the Ghana Police Service.
In a survey report released by an anti-corruption coalition with the Vice President in attendance, some five months ago, the Ghana Police Service and the Customs, Excise and Preventive Service got the unenviable position of the most corrupt public institutions in the country. The survey report cited the MTTU of the Police as the most corrupt in the service. It was also mentioned that it is the members of the public who offer bribes first, as opposed to the public servants demanding them.
The subject of corruption has been prominent at various public forums. It is seen as a major cause of the country's and indeed the third world's woes. Corruption is a practice, which nobody wants to be associated with, and so to be seen to be involved in it calls for a speedy and decisive action on the part of the authorities.
Much as the police service has some personnel of dubious character, a generalised branding of the whole set-up as corrupt would not be a fair assessment as there are men and women within the establishment who are doing their best in the face of odds to serve their nation. For now, the seeming respite the country is enjoying from the menace of robbers is as a result of the determination and sacrifice of some police personnel.
