Police, Local government to build police stations

The Police Administration has requested the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development to identify places in the 45 newly created districts and provide infrastructure to enable the police set up stations.

For lack of funds, there had been a delay in the provision of infrastructure but the Police Administration has assured Ghanaians it would post personnel to the new districts and provide logistics as soon as funds are available.

Mr Mark Owen Woyongo, Minister for the Interior, said this in Parliament when answering questions related to the ministry.

Mr Mustapha Ussif, Member of Parliament (MP) for Yagaba/Kubore, wanted to know when the Mamprugu Moaduri District would be provided with a police station.

Mr Ameen Salifu, MP for Wa East, also asked the minister when Funsi, the district capital, would be provided with a fire station.

On the question of the Mamprugu Moaduri District police station, Mr Woyongo said the Northern Regional Police Commander was to follow-up on the provision of infrastructure by the District Chief Executive and the Member of Parliament to set up the police office.

“The Police Administration is still awaiting their response,” he said.

Mr Woyongo said it had been difficult to secure accommodation and space to house police stations and personnel and appealed to members of the public who could assist the police with such facilities to approach the service for negotiations.

On the fire tenders for the Wa East District, Mr Woyongo, who is also the MP for Navrongo Central, announced that 80 new fire tenders had been recently commissioned and that Funsi, the capital of Wa East, would be a beneficiary of the consignment.

“Mr Speaker, it is worthy to note that whereas the Ministry of the Interior is eager to cover all districts with fire equipments, it is expected that the beneficiary districts would also put in place operational stations and water systems to facilitate the efficient functioning of the fire stations,” he said.

The House also took the Customs Bill, 2014, through the consideration stage.

The Deputy Minister of Roads and Highways, Mr Isaac Adjei Mensah, laid the Government Treaty on the Establishment of the Abidjan-Lagos corridor among the governments of the Republic of Ghana, Republic of Benin, Republic of Cote d’Ivoire, Federal Republic of Nigeria and the Togolese Republic.

The paper was referred to the Roads and Highways, Constitutional and Legal Affairs Committees.

The Ghana International Trade Commission Bill 2014 and the Petroleum (Exploration and Production) Bill were laid before the House.

Following an intervention by Mr Isaac Osei, MP for Subin, who reminded the House of the Remembrance Day, which falls on 1100 hours on November 11each year, the House observed a minute’s silence in memory of the fallen heroes of World War 1 after which the Speaker, Mr Edward Doe Adjaho, prayed for their peaceful rest.

Remembrance Day, also known as the Poppy Day, is a memorial day observed in Commonwealth countries since the end of the First World War in 1918 to remember the members of the armed forces who died in the line of duty.