The Minister of Interior, Mohammed-Mubarak Muntaka, has disclosed that government has deployed armoured buses disguised as commercial passenger vehicles to track and arrest highway robbers operating on major roads across the country.

He said the security strategy involves regularly rebranding the buses to resemble popular transport companies in order to avoid detection by criminals.

Speaking at the ‘Resetting Ghana’ town hall meeting held in Damongo in the Savannah Region on Saturday, May 23, 2026, Muntaka said the operation has already produced positive results, leading to the arrest of several suspected highway robbers.

“We have acquired armoured buses, and these armoured buses have been doing a wonderful thing on most of our long stretch roads because we keep branding them differently. Today we brand them as STC, the next day as VIP, another day as OA, just to make sure that we get the perpetrators,” he stated.

He commended the Inspector General of Police and his team for their efforts in the ongoing crackdown on highway crime.

Also addressing the gathering, the Minister of Roads and Highways, Governs Kwame Agbodza, linked the rise in highway robberies to the poor condition of roads across parts of the country.

According to him, deteriorating roads create opportunities for criminals to attack motorists and passengers, especially on long-distance routes.

Police deploy armed officers on long-distance buses

Agbodza also expressed concern over delays affecting some road projects under the government’s Big Push infrastructure programme.

He singled out contractors working on the Wa to Wiawso corridor, which passes through parts of the Savannah Region, as among the lowest-performing and urged those who had abandoned project sites to return to work immediately.

The town hall meeting also gave the Savannah Regional House of Chiefs the opportunity to present a number of development concerns on behalf of the Yagbonwura, Bii Kunuto Jewu Soale I.

The concerns included inadequate water supply in Damongo, poor roads, delays in the construction of the regional hospital, the need for additional districts, the establishment of a university, and the recruitment of Gonja language teachers.

President John Dramani Mahama, who is currently on a nationwide ‘Resetting Ghana’ tour, responded to several of the issues raised.

He disclosed that preparatory work for the Damongo water project had been completed and that the project had entered the procurement stage.

The initiative is expected to draw water from Yapei to supply communities including Busunya, Damongo, Larabanga and nearby areas.

The President also announced plans to establish a science and technology university in the Savannah Region.

He disclosed that China had provided a US$30 million grant for the project, while an additional US$100 million funding request had been submitted to the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa.

On healthcare, President Mahama assured residents that the Savannah Region would receive a 300-bed regional referral hospital equipped with MRI, CT scan and X-ray facilities.

MRA/EB

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