President approves Communication networks for Police

Accra, Nov. 21, GNA- President John Kufuor has given approval in principle for the equipping of the Police Service with communications networks and more vehicles to facilitate their work.

The decision is yet to go before cabinet and parliament.

Mr. Hackman Owusu-Agyemang, the Minister of Interior said this in Parliament on Friday when answering a question by Mr. Joseph Ackah, NDC-Jomoro, as to what the President was doing to assist the Police apart from the provision of vehicles.

The Minister said the government was also seeking assistance from the South Africa for the provision of terrain and cross-country vehicles to augment the saloon cars already provided to them.

The Minister, in response to a question from Mr. Akwasi Afrifa, NPP-Fomena as to what was being done about broken down vehicles said arrangements were also being made to repair broken down land rovers belonging to the Police service.

Alhaji Sumani Abubakari, NDC-Choggu/Tishigu, asked if there were any plans to provide the Prisons Services with some of the cross-country vehicles from South Africa, but the Minister said there were separate arrangements being made for the Prison Service.

Mr. Owusu-Agyemang said the Ministry of Interior has plans to upgrade the status of some Police stations into District Police offices in the country, including the Begoro Police Station in the Eastern Region.

He said this when Samuel Ofosu-Ampofo, NDC-Fanteakwa, in an earlier question slated for the day, asked what plans the Ministry has to upgrade the Begoro Police station into a district Police station to serve the Fanteakwa District.

The Minister said the upgrading of police stations into district ones would entail the improvement of existing physical structures where they exist or the building of new ones.

"The upgrading would also involve the posting of personnel and their dependants to these police stations. This would entail a rather high financial outlay, which the government budget alone would not be able to support," the Interior Minister noted.

He said the policy now was for government to have the support and assistance of the chiefs and people in the area as well as the districts assemblies to put up some structures in order to upgrade such police stations into districts ones.

"The structures for which support would be needed include office accommodation, residential accommodation for inspectors and other ranks and the police district officers' residential accommodation, " he said.

The Minister said the Police Service has identified two police stations, which are to be upgraded into district police stations. These are the Mim in the Brong-Ahafo region and Begoro.

"The Research Department has been tasked to work on other police stations to determine which ones have to be upgraded", the Minister said.

Mr. Owusu-Agyemang said the fire tender to be given to the Begoro Police station has broken down but plans are in place to repair it to enable the station deal with fire outbreaks in the area.

Mr. Ofosu-Ampofo had sought to find out from the Minister when the Ministry would allocate a new fire tender to the station to enable them to fight "effectively the numerous fire outbreaks in the Fanteakwa Constituency, especially bush fires in the forest reserves."

The Minister explained that the fire tender to be given to the Begoro station had problems with the electronic system during shipping into the country but arrangement have been made for representatives of the suppliers to come down to Ghana to repair the fire tender.

Mr. Stephen Balado Manu, NPP-Ahafo Ano South, asked what steps the Ministry was taking to minimise the effects of bush fires with the coming of the dry seasons. The Minister said the National Bush Fire campaign was about to be launched in Kyebi in the Eastern region.