Proactive Should Be The Watch Word

In the recent past, so many incidents and accidents have occasioned which in my estimation could have be avoided and or averted if the security apparatus especially the Police Service had been proactive, that is to say, their Intelligence gathering machinery were not in full swing.

Here mention can be made of irate drivers putting under siege some parts of Ashiaman Township and, again, the Tema end of the Motorway and taking some persons hostages which stalled economic activities that fateful day.

The galamsey menace which the security apparatus adopted a 'wait and see' strategy is another sad commentary which has impacted negatively on our water bodies with its concomitant destruction of water bodies not forgetting the hike in water tariffs. Machinery and equipment specially and specifically tailored for the galamsey industry trooped in in numbers through our ports with none blinking an eye.

Currently there are lamentations allover about the security arrangements in some key national installations including Parliament House which has virtually been turned into a market place, Bank of Ghana where the sitting posture of the security apparatus tells it all, Volta River Authority Installations, Cocoa House and even the building housing National Security itself which until recently had a thoroughfare right in front.It might interest readers to know and learn that I once unknowingly drove there without questions.

Sudanese refugees travelled all the way from the North and were only intercepted at Ako Adjei interchange, the heart of the Capital, Accra, when and where they opted to spend the night thereabout.

In the latest development, irate youth from Asewase or thereabout in Kumasi had the effrontery, mustered courage and stormed the second largest Teaching Hospital in the Country(Komfo Anokye) without notice, vandalizing properties, beating up and molesting staff therein in the process. This has culminated in staff withdrawing their services citing safety and security concerns with its attendant ramification for the generality of the populace especially the sick.

Here too, the security apparatus (Bureau of National Investigations-BNI, National Security, Ghana Police Service) failed woefully to read through for there were signs clearly written on the wall of an imminent strike and nothing ought to have been taken for granted. Their assertion that they were in talks with the Zongo Chiefs, the family of the victim is not only porous, weak and, again, flies in the face of logic but also lacked professional security touch - what contingencies were put in place or they have no such word in their vocabulary?

What I want to drive home is, the security apparatus should not play ostrich, they should do some introspection, admit their pitfalls, bury their pride for there is something seriously lacking in their intelligence gathering machinery and the earlier they pick up the pieces, the better it will inure to the benefit of all Ghanaians.

I am afraid that if this trend should continue, we will wake up one morning to realize that the Regional Capitals have been swapped.

Trust someone is taking 'judicial notice' thereof.

Sincerely yours,

Osei Kwabena