The Ghana Police Service will, within the next few months, receive another 360 vehicles, made up of 100 Land Rovers and 260 Peugeot vehicles of various models from France in addition to the 50 which were recently delivered to the Service.
Arrangements are also underway to procure various specialised vehicles required to make the operations of the police more effective. In addition, another 100 old Land Rover vehicles belong to the Service are being rehabilitated and most of them will be fitted with communication equipment to make policing easier.
Kwabena Affram Asiedu, Deputy Minister for Interior disclosed this when he launched the Brong Ahafo Regional Police Endowment Fund in Sunyani last Friday. The Deputy Minister assured the police that the NPP government is taking various measures to address the multifaceted problems that hinder the Service in their attempt to combat crime, adding that the government is hopeful that the critical transport needs of the Service would addressed by the end of the year.
On armed robbery, the Deputy Minister said the government is very mindful of the negative impact the menace has on development as well as the well being of society in general. “It is with this view that over the past few weeks, the government has declared war on armed robbery,” he added.
The war, he said, has started yielding dividends as the incidence of armed-robbery and other criminal activities are now on the decline. “The NPP believes in law and order, and will therefore, develop the necessary arrangements to clamp down on all forms of criminalities in the country,” he said.
Ernest Debrah, Brong Ahafo Regional Minister, deplored the poor state of the offices and accommodation for the police in the region, noting that the Police staff quarters are at various stages of deterioration while vehicles and communication gadgets are also not readily available.
He, therefore, made a passionate appeal to all and sundry to contribute generously to the fund to enable the police be well resourced and highly motivated to continue their fight against hardened criminals who are bent on making life uncomfortable for Ghanaians. An appeal for funds yielded ?80 million, which included ?5 million from each of the 13 District Assemblies and the Regional Coordinating Council.
