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12.02.2009 General News

Volta Police Cry Over Allowance

12.02.2009 LISTEN
By Daily Guide

POLICE PERSONNEL who were drawn from various districts in the Volta region for operational duties at Anloga are crying foul over the refusal of their superiors to pay them their daily allowance of GH¢2.00 for the past eight weeks.

According to the aggrieved police personnel, all attempts to get the authorities to pay them what they are entitled to have fallen on deaf ears, making them suspicious that their allowances might have gone into the wrong hands.

The officers, in an interview with DAILY GUIDE, appealed to the Acting Inspector General of Police (IGP) and the new Volta Regional Police Commander to use their good offices to “help the poor policemen to get their ration before it changes hands.”

In another development, Police personnel in the region have also appealed to the Acting IGP to come to their aid with decent accommodation to enable them serve the nation with all diligence.

The officers who spoke on anonymity told this paper that as many as five people are confined to rooms that could barely accommodate them and in some cases the rooms allocated to them are leaking to the extent that when it rains in their absence, “our belongings get wet.”

According to them, some of the houses do not even have places of convenience, a situation that forces them to use any nearby bush when they receive the call of nature, adding, “how can the society even respect you when they see you easing yourself in the bush?”

The accommodation problem has seen some of them using corridors as their sleeping places, a situation which made some of them wondered why the treatment given to their colleagues in the military could not be accorded them also.

They mentioned that a typical example of the accommodation problem is that a building at the Regional Head office at Ho which was meant for a health facility for the police has been turn into a hostel for a large number of personnel and even part of the head office itself has equally been turned into a sleeping place for personnel.

They noted that the improper manner in which they were being accommodated was exposing them to numerous risks, and called on the authorities to as a matter of urgency “run to our aid before things get out of hand.”

Transportation has also been mentioned by the officers as a major constraint in the discharge of their duties.

They explained that on most occasions, they had to use their own funds to transport criminals to the police station without any refund, a situation they said is the reason why some of them demand money from suspects before releasing them on bail to enable them “cover up their expenses.”

They recommended that to enhance transparency in the Ghana Police Service, government should attend to the plight of the Policemen.

From Wise Donkor, Ho

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