Moves To Check Crime At Buduburam Camp

Plans are far advanced to beef up police presence at the Gomoa Buduburam Refugee Camp as part of measures to improve the security situation at the camp. This follows complaints that some residents at the camp are involved in criminal activities.

According to the Chairman of the Ghana Refugee Board, Ninii Akiwumi, the current number of six Policemen to a population of more than 40,000 refugees does not augur well for security in the Camp.

He said the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is in direct contact with the Ministry of the Interior and the Police Administration to improve the security situation. As a first step, the UNHCR in collaboration with the Ghana Police Service has screened and trained 300 members of the Camp to form a neighbourhood watchdog committee.

It is also initiating a programme to provide electricity within and outside the environs of the camp to facilitate the monitoring of the security situation.

Mr Akiwumi was speaking at press conference organized by the to brief Journalist on the recent visit of members of the Parliamentary Select Committee of Foreign Affairs to acquaint themselves with the general living conditions in the Camp.

Mr Akiwumi said the per capita income of 38 dollars a year for each refugee was grossly inadequate and was making it difficult to handle situations in the Camp effectively.

The UNHCR Representative in Ghana, Thomas Albrecht, called for tolerance and understanding among Ghanaians and refugees. He urged Ghanaians not to see only their vulnerability but also their positive contributions to the society.