Security services prepared for peaceful elections — Bani
The Minister of the Interior, Mr Prosper Douglas Bani, has given an assurance that the security services are ready to maintain peace and order in the country during and after the forthcoming general election.
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He said briefings by the security agencies indicated their preparedness for the task ahead.
Mr Bani made this known when he called on the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, at the Manhyia Palace in Kumasi as part of his working visit to the Ashanti Region.
The minister was accompanied by the Inspector General of Police, Mr John Kudalor, the Chief Director of the Interior Ministry, Mrs Adelaide Kusi-Kumi, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Osei K. Ampofo-Duku, the acting Ashanti regional Commander of Police, and other regional service commanders.
He said the visit to the region was to enable him to touch base with the agencies under the ministry and to assess their challenges and how best they could be assisted to enhance performance.
Mr Bani indicated that the Ashanti Region was one of the most populated in the country and was also very vibrant in economic activities, thus, the region played a very important role in the economy and politics of the country.
He expressed his satisfaction with the operations of the security agencies in the region.
Police commended
Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, for his part, commended the police in the region for maintaining peace and order.
He said the police had been able to instil law and order in the region and prevented people from taking the law into their own hands.
According to him, the police have also been able to bring crime rates in the region down and commended them for the good work.
Otumfuo asked the police to continue the good work and ensure that the peace in the country was maintained during and after the general election.
He stressed that no one was above the law and as such anyone who flouted the law should be dealt with accordingly irrespective of the person’s status or political affiliation.
Inter-Party Advisory Committee
He proposed that the police should be part of the Inter-Party Advisory Committee (IPAC) to be fully abreast of some of the decisions taken to inform their operations.
He said the general election should not bring the country to a standstill and appealed to the minister to resource the personnel under the ministry to effectively discharge their duties.
The Asantehene said he was aware of the numerous challenges facing most of the agencies under the ministry, such as the Fire Service, the Immigration Service and the Prisons Service.
He mentioned as an example that the Prisons Service lacks means of transport such that the service has to resort to the use of commercial vehicles in transporting inmates to and from prisons.
He cited the last July 14, 2016 incident in which two inmates lost their lives in an accident while they were returning from a farm in Kenyasi-Ntotroso in the Brong Ahafo Region and said if the service had its own means of transportation, that accident could have been averted.
The Asantehene reminded the minister of the enormous task of ensuring the security of the people in the country.