Police Council pledges to enhance welfare of policemen

Cape Coast, Nov. 10, GNA - Mr Justice Sam Baddoo, retired Supreme Court Judge and Chairman of the Police Council, on Friday reiterated the determination of the Council to ensure that the salaries and conditions of service for the police were commensurate with their dedicated services to the nation.

He expressed concern about what he described as the 'embarrassing' salary structure for the police, with a police constable earning just about 9 million cedis a year, observing, that 'their salary is awful yet they have continued to render good services to the nation'.

Mr Justice Baddoo made the pledge when he inaugurated a 19-member Central Regional Police Committee, under the chairmanship of the Regional Minister, Nana Ato Arthur, in Cape Coast.

The formation of a Regional Police Committees is in accordance with Article 201 of the 1992 Constitution. It is primarily to advise the Police Council on any matter relating to the administration of the Police Service in the regions.

Members of the regional committee comprise representatives from the 13 district assemblies, the Attorney General's Department, Regional House of Chiefs and the Ghana Bar Association (GBA) and two most senior police officers in the region.

Mr Justice Baddoo said as a result, the Council 'has set in motion an apparatus' to review the salaries of the personnel of the Service, but said this had, however, been put on hold to await the holistic salary structure being evolved by the government to cover all category of workers.

According to him, the committee was also making efforts to improve conditions of service for the police, to motivate them to give of their best, pointing out, that some of both their residential and office accommodation were also 'awful'.

He tasked members of the Council 93to look at the accommodation and transportation needs of the police in the Region=94 and advise the Council accordingly.

Touching on the importance of the committee, he stressed that it comprised key stakeholders who should be capable of finding ways of ensuring that the police in the Region were able to fulfil their constitutional mandate of maintaining law and order, as well as facilitating the growth of the democratic process and investment.

For his part, a Deputy Minister for the Interior, Mr Kwaku Agyeman-Manu, also reiterated the commitment of the government to enhancing the wellbeing of the police by providing the requisite financial and logistical support to enhance their performance.

Mr Agyeman-Manu, enumerated steps being taken to procure logistic support for the Police Service, such as the recent approval by Parliament of a 10 million dollar loan agreement for the acquisition of more vehicles, spare parts and protective equipment, adding that hopefully, about 269 vehicles would be added to the Service's fleet early next year, to increase its mobility by 28 per cent.

He also touched on efforts to redevelop the Police Hospital in Accra, and to establish a comprehensive communication system to serve the needs of all security agencies in the country, next year.

The Deputy Minister exhorted the police to reciprocate by delivering more efficient, effective and satisfactory services to the nation.

Mr Agyeman-Manu, asked members of the committee to facilitate an improvement in the discharge of police duties by paying regular visits to the police stations in order to appreciate what goes on there. He appealed to the district assemblies to support the police in the areas of accommodation and transportation.

In his introductory remarks, the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Mr Patrick Acheampong, expressed delight that the setting up of regional police committees, which had hitherto been 93difficult=94, was now taking place with the committees in the Eastern and Volta regions already inaugurated.

He expressed the hope that all regional committees would have been inaugurated by the end of the year, because it was the belief of his administration that the committees could among others, serve as watchdogs, in monitoring the police, individually and as a corporate entity.

The IGP also urged the committee to take cognisance of issues peculiar to the Region, by for instances looking critically at the root causes of disturbances and evolving strategies in helping solve them, citing the numerous chieftaincy disputes.

He hinted of plans to set up police training schools in all regional capitals and appealed to chiefs, individuals and organizations to assist the regional coordinating councils (rccs), to ensure that the project took off.

The Chief Director at the Regional Coordinating Council, Mr Michael Essandoh, in his welcoming address advised the committee members against dictating to the regional police command and to make the desired input to enhance the performance of the police in the region. Mr Justice Nana Gyamerah-Tawiah, a supervising high court judge in Cape Coast, swore in the committee members.