By Laudia Sawer
Tema, Nov. 07, GNA — Dr Benjamin Anyagre Aziginaateeg, the Chief Executive Officer of the AfriKan Continental Union Consult (ACUC), has called on the government to invest decisively in security.
Dr Aziginaateeg said investing in security was very important, recognising that Ghana is not as safe as assumed due to the twin national emergencies of corruption and illegal mining threatening the survival of the state.
Speaking with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in the wake of recent attacks on some police stations by community members, he indicated that to achieve effective and efficient service delivery, the Ghana Police Service must undergo an institutional reset, noting that one of the critical weaknesses remains response time, which is often slow during robbery or emergency.
He added that other challenges the service faced included the lack of patrol vehicles, lack of radio communication equipment, and insufficient patrol personnel on the ground.
He said to combat crime and corruption, the police already possess the knowledge and tools and therefore could play a key role if properly invested in.
Dr Aziginaateeg added that for Ghana to have a purposeful 24-hour national police service, there was the need to provide decent accommodation in all regions and districts for the police, regulate free utilities (water and electricity) for service personnel, provision modern policing gadgets and logistics, and a meritocracy-based promotion system, free from favouritism or political interference.
Dr Aziginaateeg suggested that where officers were motivated through such provisions and still abuse their duty, dismissal and a minimum of a six-month custodial sentence with hard labour should follow to deter others.
Touching on corruption, he said the obsession of people, especially those in power, to quickly accumulate wealth fuels poverty and undermines national morale, stressing that the Attorney General’s recent exposé highlighted the alarming growth of corruption in Ghana.
He said in financial terms, corruption over the past five years had denied Ghanaians a welfare state and now posed a national security threat, saying a stolen US$1 million, hidden in a politician’s bedroom, could pay a starting salary of GH₵10,000 each to over 1,000 police officers.
GNA
Edited by Christabel Addo