Accra, July 24, GNA – Dr Festus Aubyn, a Security Analyst, has lauded the decision of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to appoint Commissioner of Police (COP) Dr George Akuffo-Dampare as Acting Inspector General of Police (IGP).
Dr Aubyn, who described COP Dr Akuffo-Dampare’s appointment as a very excellent choice, also urged the President to confirm him as the substantive IGP based on his performance as Acting IGP.
He said looking at COP Dr Akuffo-Dampare’s educational credentials and achievements within the Ghana Police Service, the President made an excellent choice by selecting him as the Acting IGP, especially at this point in the life of the Police Service where there were a lot of issues with public confidence in terms of the rising crimes and indiscipline within the Police Service.
“The President’s choice is a very excellent one. If we look at COP Dr Akuffo-Dampare’s background within the last 30 years that he has been in the Service, we would also see that he has occupied very high-level positions and very important positions within the Service and in all those positions he has excelled in terms of how he delivered on his mandate,” Dr Aubyn stated in an interview with the Ghana News Agency in Accra.
The Security Analyst described COP Dr Akuffo-Dampare as an all-round personality who understands the Police Service very well and that his academic achievement and experiences make him the best person suited for the position; declaring that “I think that he is the best choice for now if you look at the police leadership”.
In terms of expectations, the Security Analyst said, he expects COP Akuffo-Dampare to change public perception about the police, and to instill confidence, boost the morale of police officers and also instill discipline within the Police Service.
He advised Ghanaians to be a bit measured in their expectation of the new IGP; saying “If you look at the previous IGPs that we’ve had, all of them eulogised when they were appointed for their competence and how they served well in different positions and all that, but when they come in, the situation becomes a bit different, most of them before they leave office, face a lot of public criticism”.
“So, we need to be measured in our expectations so that we don’t get disappointed when things begin to worsen because it is one thing holding a position within the Police Service and another thing being the IGP because the roles are different and also the kind of internal and external pressure that comes upon you as an IGP is also totally different,” he said.
“And that is why I think that we need to allow him to work for about six months or three months and then we can begin to assess his performance.”
He urged the new IGP to be mindful of major challenges of the Police Service such as the issues of political and social interferences in the work of the police.
He recommended that the new IGP finds innovative win-win approaches to deal with political interference in the Police Service; adding that such an approach should not be confrontational but one that is underpinned by dialogue.
He said his inability to manage political interferences well was going to affect his overall performance as an IGP when he’s confirmed.
Dr Aubyn also urged the new IGP to do some internal reforms of the police and that there was the need for him to ensure that all police officers who had been at a particular location for ten years or more were transferred to ensure innovation.
GNA