Police, Armed Forces councils take office
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo on Tuesday swore in members of the Police and the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) councils at a ceremony at the Jubilee House in Accra.
The members of the councils took the official oath and the oath of secrecy.
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Police Council
The Police Council is chaired by the Vice-President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, and the members include the Minister of the Interior, Mr Ambrose Dery; the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Dr George Akuffo Dampare; the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Mr Godfred Yeboah Dame; Mr Kwaku Bram-Larbi, representing the Ghana Bar Association, and a retired Commissioner of Police (COP), Mr Joseph Boakye Appiah, representing the Retired Senior Police Officers Association.
The rest are Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Faustina Agyeiwaa K. Andoh-Kwofie, representing the senior rank of the Ghana Police Service; Inspector Felix Essuman, representing the junior ranks, and Mr Hadih A. Bin Salih and Madam Cecilia Eguakun, nominees of the President.
Armed Forces Council
The Vice-President again chairs the GAF Council, with the Minister of Defence, Mr Dominic Nitiwul; the Minister of the Interior, the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Ms Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, and the Chief of the Defence Staff, Vice-Admiral Seth Amoama, as some of the members.
Others are the Chief of the Air Staff, Air Vice-Marshal Frank Hanson; the Chief of Army Staff, Maj. Gen. T. Oppong-Peprah, and the Chief of Naval Staff, Rear Admiral Issah Adam Yakubu.
The rest are Brig. Gen. R.O. Sackey (retd), Col C.B. Ankomah-Danso (retd) and Master Warrant 0fficer Daniel Addo, a Senior Warrant Officer, all nominees of the President.
Constitutional bodies
President Akufo-Addo, in his address to the Police Council, said the council was one of the most important organs of the state, for which reason he would count on the members to discharge their functions well to help maintain law and order in the country.
“The effective execution of your mandate is premised on helping the IGP build a professional Police Service that is accountable, responsive, transparent, trustworthy and respectful of human rights and accommodates the concerns of the public it serves,” he said.
He said the actions of the IGP had so far received the strong backing of Ghanaians, as many were now realising that the laws of the land would not spare anybody who fell foul of the law.
Logistics
The President said his administration had provided arguably the largest logistical support for the Police Service in its history.
Currently, he said, processes to recruit 4,000 men and women for the service were ongoing.
“We have also put in place far-reaching measures to improve the quality of the service and the welfare of its personnel and will continue to do more in the coming years and the council should enable us to achieve this goal,” he said.
He expressed confidence in the members of the council to meet the expectations of Ghanaians.
“I envisage a Police Service that goes about its duty of protecting ordinary citizens confidently, and there will be no interference from the powers that be,” he said.
Armed Forces
Speaking to the GAF Council, President Akufo-Addo said it might make regulations for the official performance of its functions, the control of administration of the GAF and the conditions of service for officers relating to enrolment, salaries, pensions, gratuities and other allowances for officers, men and women of each service.
He urged the council to protect the interests of the people and the officers and men of the GAF.
Highlighting his vision for the GAF, the President said in terms of preparedness, the government would actively support contemporary training methods to ensure that the GAF remained the beacon of armed forces across the continent.
“As we have done since 2017, we are committed to providing the GAF with modern military equipment which will complement the training they receive,” he said.
He said the government was also committed to enriching the human resource base of the GAF by supporting initiatives that would provide further education for soldiers, sailors and airmen to enhance further their skills and protect our territorial integrity.
Response
Dr Bawumia, on behalf of the members of the Police Council, expressed gratitude to President Akufo-Addo and gave an assurance that they would work hard to build on the image of the Police Service.
“We will roll out the necessary strategic interventions to enable the Police Service to deliver on its core mandate of maintaining law and order,” he assured the President.
He pointed out that the growth and development of the country and improved living standards depended on public safety and the security measures put in place to guarantee an environment that protected lives and properties.
He said the increased population, with its attendant demographic dynamics and sophisticated crime trends, called for the development of proactive security measures to counteract the trends associated with the developments.
On the GAF, Dr Bawumia said they had seen tremendous improvement in their welfare and operational readiness under President Akufo-Addo.
He mentioned the ongoing barracks regeneration projects which had improved on accommodation challenges for troops, while modernisation of health facilities was going on.
He added that the retooling and re-equipping of the forces had also improved their operational efficiency, which was evident in successful outcomes of security operations, both locally and internationally.