Stop 'secret' training of police recruits at Koforidua – NDC to police administration

The Eastern Regional Secretariat of the largest Opposition Party, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) has called on the Police administration to immediately halt the “secret” training of Police recruits at the Koforidua Police Training School, and close the facility.

The Koforidua Police Training School has been reopened since last week despite the directive against school attendance by President Akufo-Addo. The recruits who were asked to go home when President Akufo-Addo directed the closure of educational institutions have been recalled.

But the Director of Public Affairs for the Ghana Police Service, Superintendent Sheila Kessie Abayie-Buckman said the police did not close its schools over the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Police never closed its training facilities. We had two batches of recruits in training, What we did was for the junior batches to go home so the senior ones continue with their training and then the rest could come. Now we have been advised that the junior batches can now report too so that is what is going on. The necessary protocols have been put in place that all trainees are safe,” she told Francis Abban on the Morning Starr.

However, a statement issued Sunday, May 17, 2020 and signed by the Eastern Regional Communication Officer of the NDC, Darlas Williams said the party has noted with grave concern an ongoing secret Police training in the Eastern Region specifically the capital town, Koforidua.

“We are reliably informed, over Hundred (100) recruits have been selected and are currently going through training at the Koforidua Police Training School.
This is at the time the number of COVID-19 cases in the Eastern Region and in the country keep soaring as a result of the government’s bad approach to mitigating the pandemic“.

The NDC says it finds the action surprising that, the training school was closed even at the time Eastern region was yet to record a single Covid-19 case by the authorities following the directives of the president, but the same people are quick to recall the recruits at a time the region have recorded almost 100 confirmed cases.

“Therefore, we see the action of the authorities as a clear violation and flagrant disregard and disrespect to the president’s directives on social gathering and the closure of facilities such as schools,” the statement added.

The statement claimed, Instructors, Trainers, other serving officers, and their family members are deeply worried regarding the risk these recruits from their various homes especially from the epicentres would be putting everyone into. Especially when these recruits have not been tested to ascertain their status”

The NDC has also raised serious concerns about the secret recruitments into the Police Service.

“After the Akufo-Addo led government announced that financial clearance had been given for the recruitment of Four Thousand (4,000) personnel into the Police Service, there has been opaque and total disregard to established procedures for the recruitment in the country, and same concerns have been shared by security experts who posits that ill-defined recruitment into the Ghana Police Service posed a serious threat to national security.”

“We, as a Social Democratic party, is concerned that the vulnerable have been at the receiving end of the impact of this pandemic, and have a responsibility to protect them within our democratic means. Since insecurity anywhere amounts to insecurity everywhere, we call on the Police Administration to suspend and close down the Training Schools as directed by the president to allow for collective efforts toward the containment of the novel Coronavirus.”

Ninety-Seven (97 ) more persons tested positive for coronavirus Saturday, May 16, 2020 in Ghana have increased the national tally to 5,735. One more death was also recorded marginally increasing the death toll to 29 while recoveries have jumped significantly to 1,754.