Monday, 19th September, 2022 (1)

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DAILY ANALYST Monday, 19th September, 2022
Recruits advised to be
ambassadors of current
policing training model
Commissioner of Police
(COP), Mr Enoch
Adutwum Bediako,
Director-General of
Service at the Police
Head Office, has entreated Police
recruits to be disciplined in their
field of work as true ambassadors
of current policing training
model.
He charged them to work
hard and endeavour to comply
with the law they were obliged to
enforce to uplift the image of the
Service.
Mr Bediako, reviewing a
passing out parade of 194 Recruits
during a consultative forum
to collate inputs into the 2023
National Budget and Economic
Policy, organised in Tamale by
SEND-Ghana, a non-governmental
organisation.
It forms part of the organization’s
Monitoring for Financial
Savings project being implemented
in partnership with
Integrity Action.
The forum brought together
civil society organisations, persons
with disability and assembly
members, who identified health,
education and sanitation infrastructure
as some critical needs.
Mr Mohammed Da-ud Ansuar,
the Chairman of Social Service
Sub-Committee, Tamale Metroin
Ho, in the Volta Region
advised the recruits to conduct
themselves in appropriate
manner to gain public trust and
respect.
The Reviewing Officer noted
that “the public is our client” and
that it was important to exhibit
a high sense of professionalism,
civility and respect when dealing
with them.
This, he said, would
undoubtedly win the public
confidence and trust, and
they would willingly offer
the requisite information
and necessary support to the
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commitment to democracy
– Governments advised
Service to carry out its mandate
effectively.
He said the current
Administration of the Service put
much premium on Police-Public
interactions by making client
management and customer care
a topmost priority in the police
training modules because it
recognised the importance of the
public in dealing with all forms
of crimes.
Mr Bediako said the Police
Administration was taking
pragmatic steps to weed out
miscreants and criminals
masquerading in Police uniform
from the Service to restore its
reputation and good image.
He warned the recruits
against misconduct, noting
that the Police Administration
would not countenance any act
of bribery, extortion, corruption,
and “worse of all police personnel
involvement in violent crimes
such as robbery.”
The Reviewing Officer said
the Police Service was confronted
with emerging crimes, terrorism,
cyber related crimes, new
policing challenges and changes
in the modus operandi of
criminals
This, he said, has increased
demand on the personnel of the
Service to deliver services that
were more diverse, complex,
skilled, and specialised to deal
with the current crime trends
and called for support from
to effectively deal with the
situation.
The recruits constituted the
second batch of trainees in 2022
and were successfully taken
through a six-month intensive
basic police training programme
to equip them with the requisite
knowledge and skills to be able
to respond effectively to any
COP Enoch Adutwum Bediako
situation.
They were taught subjects
including practical Police duties,
criminal law, criminal procedure,
service instructions, criminal
investigation, law of evidence,
professional policing ethics,
English language and report
writing, social psychology, child
friendly policing, musketry,
physical training, foot, and rifle
drills.
General Recruit, Issahak
Mohammed Mubarak was
adjudged the Overall Best
Recruit, scoring 1,027 marks out
of a total of 1, 300 representing 79
per cent, and was presented with
a baton of honour and a prize.
Professor Henry Kwasi
Prempeh, Executive
Director, Centre
for Democratic
Development (CDD),
says most citizens in West Africa
feel left out in democracy, as
some governments and leaders
circumvent constitutions to
abuse power.
He urged West African leaders
and Civil Society Organisations
(CSOs) to show commitment to
upholding democracy in the subregion
and not be complacent
about the “few” gains made in
the practice.
Professor Prempeh made
these remarks on the sidelines
of the launch of the West Africa
Democracy Solidarity Network
(WADEMOS) and Conference on
Countering Threats to Democracy
in West Africa.
The WADEMOS is a civil
society network committed
to strengthen and protect
democracy in the West African
sub-region.
The day of the launch also
mark the commemoration of
International Day of Democracy
by the United Nations.
Professor Prempeh said
majority of the citizenry wanted
more from democracy and not
just in the area of voting and
elections.
Most of them, he stressed,
where feeling betrayed due to the
undemocratic practices of some
governments and leaders.
He, therefore, urged West
African leaders to uphold the
principles of democracy and
fairness, including tenure of
office.
Professor Prempeh, who
is also Project Director of
WADEMOS, said the network
intended to mobilise and
coordinate the region’s prodemocracy
CSOs to help stem
democratic challenges.
He stressed that they would
be complementing the works
of governments and regional
organisations in this regard.
Dr Abdel Fatau Musah,
Economic Community for
West African States (ECOWAS)
Commissioner for Political
Affairs, Peace and Security, said
the CSOs had a critical role
to play in collaboration with
regional bodies in sustaining
democracy.
“We believe that the network
can position itself in building
synergies and act as watchdogs
on member states,” he added.
He stressed that ECOWAS
would continue to strengthen
peace and security in the region
through the support of its
stakeholders.
Give us adequate budgetary
allocation - Assemblies
Some assemblies in the
Northern and Savannah
regions have appealed to
the Ministry of Finance
to allocate adequate
resources in the 2023 Budget to
provide the needed sanitation
and health infrastructure for the
people.
They said water, sanitation
and hygiene (WASH), as well as
health facilities were in short
supply within their jurisdictions,
impacting on access to quality
health care and education.
The assemblies included the
Tamale Metropolitan, Savelugu,
Yendi and West Gonja Municipalities
and Tolon District.
These issues were raised
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo
politan Assembly, said there were
inadequate classroom blocks and
furniture leading to overcrowding
in the schools.
The metropolis also suffered
from inadequate supply of potable
water.
He, therefore, called on the
Ministry of Finance to allocate
enough resources in the 2023
Budget for the construction of
more classroom blocks, provision
of furniture, and water pumping
sites to address the challenges.
Mr Mohammed Muhaideen,
the West Gonja Municipal Health
Promotion, mentioned the lack
of a public hospital and potable
water as the major needs of the
area.
Mr Ahmed Zakaria, Tolon
District Disease Control Officer,
mentioned the lack of potable
water and inadequate health
facilities as some of their challenges.
Mr Mohammed Mumuni, the
Northern Regional Programmes
Manager of Send-Ghana, said the
huge infrastructure deficit at the
assemblies was very clear, which
needed to be addressed.
He observed that government’s
capital expenditure was
heavily funded by development
partners and called for changes
in that strategy, in terms of revenue
generation and expenditure,
to address the infrastructure gap.
He said the issues raised
would be harmonised and submitted
to the Ministry of Finance
to be considered in next year’s
budget, which would be presented
to Parliament in November.