Government committed to safety and security of citizens - Interior Minister

Mr Ambrose Dery, Minister of the Interior has reiterated government’s commitment to ensure safety and security of the citizenry.

He said there had been improvement in all the security agencies, including the migration of five police stations from analogue to digital system and the procurement of 540 vehicles to improve performance, construction of a drill square at the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) Academy as well as the construction of a 3-storey 280 bed capacity girls dormitory.

He said V-satellites had been commissioned at the headquarters of the GIS and also at the Kotoka International Airport (KIA), Aflao, Elubo and paga, to enhance data transfers to headquarters on timely efficient and uninterruptible manner.

The Interior Minister made this known in a speech read on his behalf, by the Deputy Minister of the Interior, Mr Henry Quartey, at the opening of the 2019 mid-year performance review meeting of the Ministry, underway in Koforidua.

The Minister also disclosed that letters of credit for the procurement of hydraulic platform for the Ghana National Fire Service had been issued by the Bank of Ghana, and that, 398 personnel had been recruited into the service whiles intelligence gathering offices had been set up in all the regions

He said all other agencies, including the Ghana Prisons service, Narcotics Control Board, National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO), Gaming Commission of Ghana, National peace Council and Ghana Refugee Board, had all seen some level of improvement, for the safety and security of the citizenry.

The Interior Minister urged all stakeholders to be committed to ensuring internal peace and security of the citizenry, by being alert and vigilant as well as reduce waste and ensure value for money so that they would achieve their mandate according to the vision of the government.

The Chief Director of the Ministry of the Interior, Mrs Adelaide Anno-Kumi, said the Ministry was working hard to meet international standards of providing security to the citizenry, noting that, currently, the country had one police officer to 800 people, and that, even though the standard was one police officer to 500 persons, they were getting there gradually.

She said a lot had been done in the area of internal security, however the meeting was to afford them the opportunity to reflect their programmes and projects, financial and outstanding commitments as well as the way forward.

The three-day review meeting is being attended by officers from the security agencies and all other institutions under the ministry as well as the parliamentary select committee on defense and Interior.