Some residents in Wa have complained that they are living in fear and insecurity because of the rampant armed robbery in the Municipality.

The residents said Wa had become a dangerous town in recent times and people found it risky to stroll in the streets during the night for fear that they would either be robbed them at gun point or with cutlasses and knives.

For instance, on Wednesday night, 11 stores belonging to traders in the Wa Central Market were robbed of their goods and there have not arrests been any arrests yet.

Motorbike theft has also become a common practice with snatching of handbags and luggage from travelers and market women.

These concerns were raised at a Town Hall Meeting in Wa, on Thursday.

It was organised by Action for Sustainable Development, a nongovernmental organisation, with the Wa Municipal Assembly, to create a platform for ordinary citizens to question and demand

answers from public officials on development issues and the use of public expenditure in the Municipality.

This is line with the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development’s public accountability system.

The residents said additionally, robbers daily terrorised travellers along the major roads in the Region, which linked Wa, with some victims being maimed and a few killed.

The situation, they complained, was undermining socio-economic development.

The participants suggested the transfer of the heads of the Police Command in the Region, and those of them who had worked and stayed in the municipality for more than five years.

They said they suspected that some of the officers were in collusion with the criminals and, therefore, betrayed informants.

They said a driver with the Department of Lotteries and a teacher

who was also an aspiring assembly member, were shot and killed by

the robbers recently after they had volunteered information to the

Police about their operations in the Municipality.They expressed disappointed about the operations of Police in the Municipality, saying: “We have lost trust in them hence the lynching of criminals in recent times”.

The participants accused political parties and politicians for interfering in the operations of Police, especially intervening in the release of criminals identified as their supporters and called for a stop to that practice to allow the police a free hand to carry out their duties without fear or favour.

Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Stephen Tetteh, the Wa Municipal Police Commander in reaction, blamed the inability of the police to carry out investigations into criminal cases

effectively to the so-called “Te gyaa bonyeni” (we are all one) syndrome among the Wala people.

“Your ‘Te gyaa bonyeni’ syndrome stifles police investigations into criminal cases and must be stopped.

He challenged residents to come out openly and name and shame any police officer whom they knew as a friend to criminals.

The Municipal Commander dismissed the allegations, saying they were fabricated and unproven and should be disregarded as such.

Mr. Issahaku Nuhu-Putiaha, the Wa Municipal Chief Executive, said security had been high on the agenda of the Assembly, pointing out that the safety of the citizens must not be compromised.

He said local economic development could only take place in a secured and safe environment, describing the municipality ‘as being relatively peaceful for some time now.’

Mr. Nuhu-Putiaha, however, said there was an increase in motorbike theft, snatching of handbags, a few robberies and violent acts, as a result of land disputes.

He said those acts had kept the citizens worried and the Municipal Assembly with the security services had put in place proactive measures to flush out such miscreants from the Municipality.

The Municipal Chief Executive cautioned residents against the lynching of suspected thieves, saying the practice was on the ascendency and must be discouraged.