Security agencies urged to promote good governance

Accra, April 1, GNA - The Deputy Interior Minister, Captain Nkrabea Effah Dartey (rtd) on Friday said Ghana's governance and human rights records needed improvement if the country were to develop socio-economically.

"We cannot say that Ghana has a good governance system if the Police can arrest and brutalise suspects, detain them for over 48 hours and treat them almost as animals.

"You can never have a situation where a State has developed without good governance, the Deputy Minister told participants at the opening of a two-day workshop on good governance for security agencies. The Interior Ministry in conjunction with the Konrad Adenauer Foundation of Germany is organizing the workshop, under the theme: "Good Governance - The Role of the Security Services". The workshop aims at promoting justice, rule of law, the protection of human rights and the practice of good governance by the security services.

Capt. Effah Dartey told the participants that Ghana had all the resources needed to become a paradise, both in terms of human and natural resources, but the biggest problem it faced was how to instil discipline in everything Ghanaians did.

He advised the security agencies to conduct themselves and their affairs in a professional manner and never to bend the law for the sake of anybody, since they were at the forefront of good governance. The Deputy Minister said that if the country were to move forward, the laws should be strengthened for good governance to thrive. Anna Katharina Schelnberger, Resident Representative of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, told the participants that good governance was the foundation for a better democracy.

She said the security agencies needed to exercise some circumspection with the way they dealt with the public in order not to abuse their human rights.

Mrs Leonora Kyeremanteng, National Governance Programme Co-ordinator, told participants that the surest way for national stability and development was for the security agencies to respect the Constitution and to promote good governance.

"We must be determined as a people to strengthen good governance to enhance economic development", she said.

The Participants were drawn from the Ghana Police, the Immigration, Prisons, Ghana National Fire and the Customs, Excise and Preventive Services.

Others were the Narcotics Control Board, Judicial Service, National Disaster Management Organization, Ministry of Information and Ministry of Justice.

Participants would be taken through topics including: "Fundamental Human Rights and the Protection of Civic Liberties"; "Uprooting Corruption and Ensuring Accountability in the Public Service"; "Ensuring the Reformation and Welfare of Prisoners"; "Promoting Safety, Security and Stability in Ghana" and "Negotiations and Conflict Resolution".