Why Was Police Maritime Unit Disbanded?

 
THERE WAS CHEERING news last weekend that the resuscitated Marine Unit of the Ghana Police Service (GPS) has taken delivery of six modern boats specially fitted to maintain security at our western coasts.

According to reports the boats are scheduled for commissioning this weekend and that the men to man them had already completed training on the use of the security configured boats, among others.

The men are said to have also undergone training in swimming, self-defence, weapon handling, surveillance and observation, patrol rescue operations, and the Fisheries Act andits regulations.

The unit would collaborate with sister-security agencies to deal with security issues associated with crimes in the oil, gas and fishing sectors of the economy.

The acquisition of the boats is reportedly part of moves by the government to make the country's coast unattractive for illegal activities such as piracy, illegal fishing, drug and human trafficking.

The marine unit, previously disbanded, was re-established following increasing security challenges along our coasts with the discovery of oil.

Reports have had some vessels at anchor at the Takoradi harbour being attacked by offshore robbers who use canoes to get on board the vessels.

With the presence of the boats, fishing companies currently flouting the law and fishingwithin the coastal watersreserved for canoe fishing and for breeding fish, instead of fishing in the deep seas, would now be flushed out.

News that GPS's marine unit has been brought back is heart-warming and commendable. But The Chronicle wonders why the Police Administration approved the dismantling of the marine unit only to bring it back because of the discovery of oil?

Who is it that is suggesting that without the advent of oil the police marine unit was a luxury that Ghana could not afford? Is that the extent that we have become myopic at the national level?

For how long have we heard sad stories from our fishermen returning home without a catch because of the illegal takeover of the fishing grounds by both local and foreign fishing trawlers? And for so long have we also heard of local thieves boarding ships in our territorial waters to steal.

So it beats our imagination as to why any police administration would sit down for its marine unit to be disbanded.

The Chronicle is however happy that the police marine unit has been restored in the nick of time, in view of the alleged increasing threat of piracy in our part of Africa.

International media reports claim that with the Somalia waters gradually become increasingly perilous for the pirates, the West African area was likely to become the new staging ground of attacks on cargo ships.

With the police marine unit wisely back the Western Command of the Ghana Navy would now be freed fromthe chore of policing coastal waters and devoting itself to the real task of keeping our section of the high seas free from pirates.

Piracy never gives any country a good name. And Ghana would not be an exception!