Minister says police personnel caught in illegal acts will be prosecuted

Tema, Sept 21, GNA - Papa Owusu-Ankomah the Minister of the Interior, on Wednesday warned that police personnel caught indulging in illegal acts would face disciplinary action or prosecution.

He directed the Inspector-General of Police to ensure that all officers of the service wore nametags to allow for easy identification. Papa Owusu-Ankomah said this when he inaugurated a 300-million-cedi building constructed for the Tema Community Two branch of the Motor Traffic and Transport Unit (MTTU) of the Police Service by DEVTRACO Limited at Tema.

''With the tags, officers who distinguish themselves will be easily identified and rewarded.''

He said one issue that continuously came up when talking about the police bordered on indiscipline by some of the personnel. Papa Owusu-Ankomah blamed the carnage on the roads on the situations when monies changed hands between drivers and MTTU personnel on the roads.

''Drivers and vehicles which should not be on the roads find themselves there, leading to the increasing spate of accidents and loss of lives and property.''

He urged the police to step up the operation to rid the roads of non-roadworthy vehicles.

Papa Owusu-Ankomah said fighting crime was a complex and expensive venture that could not be handled by the police alone and stressed the need for the public to volunteer information to enable the security agencies to flush out criminals.

The Interior Minister appealed to individuals as well as the private sector to supplement government's efforts at equipping the security agencies.

He commended those institutions and companies in Tema who have supported the Police in the municipality and expressed appreciation to DEVTRACO for the building.

Mr Kwamena Bartels, the Minister of Private Sector and the President's Special Initiatives, stressed the need for estate developers to make provision for spaces within their estates to be used for the establishment of public services.

Mr Joseph Aidoo, Chief Executive of DEVTRACO, said the project formed part of the company's social responsibility obligations. He said the company planned to develop a 250-acre land at community 25 as its next batch of quality and affordable housing. Mr David Quaye Annang, Tema Municipal Chief Executive, said the concern of every government was to provide job and security for the citizenry, and described the effort by DEVTRACO as very welcome. Mr Thomas Tettey Addy, Managing Director of Dashwood Shipping Agencies, presented the Tema MTTU with stationery worth one million cedis to facilitate its work.

Papa Owusu-Ankomah later unveiled the plaque for the building and handed over its keys to Dr Kofi Kesse Manfo, the Deputy Inspector-General of Police in charge of Operations.