Bawumia Must Stop Whining And Act As Chairman Of Ghana Police Service Council

I have listened to inept Vice President Bawumia’s speech on Joyfm midday news on Sunday 1st September 2019 from Wa where he called on political parties in the country to desist from politicizing security issues. For a moment, it occurred to me as though I was listening to someone else and not inept Bawumia. Since when did he come to the realization that political parties in Ghana need to desist from discussing issues relating to security and leave such issues to the security agencies to handle? In any case, exactly what did he mean, when he said political parties should stop politicizing security issues in the country? What is politicization about calling on Government to take urgent and concrete steps to nip the insecurity in the country in the bud? The inept Bawumia should tell Ghanaians.

“We will build a Ghana where our flourishing wave of freedom of expression will be guarded, respected and deepened. And, a Ghana where the safety and security of every individual and community are well assured” @ Ferdinand O. Ayim Memorial Lecture in Accra, May 2, 2012.

To appropriately situate this conversation in its proper perspective, below are verbatim reproduction of what was captured in the New Patriotic Party’s 2016 manifesto under security, the basis for which inept Bawumia and his corrupt boss Akufo Addo led NPP party are in Government today. The NPP’s2016 campaign manifesto document which is a public document anyway serves as binding social contract document between the ruling NPP government and the good people of Ghana. Therefore, every Ghanaian has the right to hold the clueless NPP Government accountable or to demand the fulfillment of the existing social contract terms and agreements between the NPPGovernment on one hand and the good people of Ghana on the other hand.

“The NPP Government will secure peace and security for all Ghanaians. Under the NPP Government, Ghanaians will feel safe on the streets and in their homes. Ghanaians will go about their daily business in the secure knowledge that their persons, properties, and lives are safe under an NPP Government. The NPP will ensure that our security personnel are also adequately prepared to deal with the emerging threats of terrorism and cybercrime, which will be another major priority of our government”.

The statement in the NPP 2016 campaign manifesto continued, NPP will…

“a). as part of our overall commitment to improving the living conditions of our security personnel, the NPP will roll out a National Barracks Regeneration Programme that will invest in rehabilitating and upgrading their living quarters across the country.

b). review and restructure recruitment into our police service to stamp out the fraud and cronyism that have been introduced into this process by the Mahama-led NDC government

c). continue to recruit additional personnel, with increased recruitment of women, into the police service, as we work towards the target of meeting the U.N. ratio of 1:500 police to civilians

d). provide the police with modern communication and policing equipment

e). build two new police hospitals at Sunyani and Bolgatanga to serve the health needs of police personnel

f). build 2 new police training schools

g). harmonise and standardize police training across the country, and improve and resource all police training institutions, including the command college at Winneba

h). complete the third phase of the 37 Military Hospital project, as well

as upgrade its equipment to meet modern medical challenges, having constructed the second phase

i). construct a new military hospital in Tamale to service the health needs of military personnel and their families in the northern sector of the country.

j). continue local and foreign training for Armed Forces personnel” Page 43 NPP 2016 Manifesto on Security.

The ruling NPP Government whilst in opposition, falsely and unjustifiably accused President Mahama led NDC Government of cronyism and fraud within security services without adducing any material evidence to back such spurious claims. Today, the substandard and clueless NPP Government of which inept Bawumia is a member of, now has a ‘patent’ for corruption, cronyism, nepotism, clannism, ‘baby-mamasm’, ‘concubinism’ among others in every facet of Government both home and abroad. Today, under corrupt Akufo Addo and inept Bawumiagovernment, the current CID Boss Maame Tiwa Addo Danquah who has become very popular in Ghana for very wrong reasons anyway got promoted at a time when many Ghanaians expected corrupt Akufo Addo to interdict her to pave way for thorough investigation into staggering revelations Kwame A-Plus of NPP fame made against her concerning Abu Jinapor and Asenso, allat the presidency.

When inept Vice President Bawumia talked about politicization of security issues, what exactly is he trying to suggest? To the extent that the IGP position is vertically a political appointment, to the extent that, the interior minister who has oversight or supervisory responsibility on the Ghana Police Service is equally a political appointee. What is even sad is that, under corrupt Akufo Addo’s NPP government, the security setup alone has 7 political appointees and yet the state of insecurity in the country is deteriorating on daily basis since 7th January 2017. In fact, the insecurity of police officers started right at the presidency where Mr Nanka Bruce a senior police officer at the presidency was physically assaulted by NPP invisible forces (NPPthugs). Up to date, Nana Akufo Addo has not done anything about that incident which was captured on the cctv cameras at the presidency. To the sad extent that, police officers who are supposed to be protecting us as civilians are not being targeted, some physically assaulted and others killed by criminals, then every discerning Ghanaian must be worried. Just in August 2019 alone, 5 police officers have been murdered by criminals. So, Ghanaians have every right to ask legitimate questions about what is going on in the country. Ghanaians have the rights to demand from Government answers to all the troubling insecurity issues in the country.

In terms of retooling and equipping the security agencies in the country, on Tuesday 2nd February 2016, President Mahama presented 253 vehicles to four state security institutions to enhance and facilitate their operations. These institutions were: Bureau of National Investigations (BNI), Ghana Prisons Service, Narcotics Control Board (NACOB) and the National Security Secretariat. http://www.ghana.gov.gh/index.php/media-center/news/2383-president-mahama-presents-vehicles-to-security-services . But as at the time President Mahama was leaving office in 2016, a total of 1,424 vehicles were procured for the Ghana Police Service between 2012 to 2016. Out of the total number, 1,089 of these vehicles were high-performance vehicles including hardbody pickups, Tundra, Landcruiser V8s etc. In addition, 14 Maverick vehicles were also delivered to Ghana Police Service under President Mahama to facilitate their operations. Meanwhile, under President Kuffuor’s 8 years from 2001 to 2008, only 547 vehicles were procured for the Ghana Police Service, I am sure readers can remember the controversial Peugeots vehicles from Nigeria under President Kuffuor.

Let me remind inept Bawumia, that when President Mahama was Vice President of Ghana and by extension head of the police council, under the late President Mills, personnel of Ghana Police for the first-time in decades started receiving enhanced or decent take home salaries (single spine). Many police officers publicly confessed how their lives got improved after their salary rationalization under President Mills led NDC government.

It enabled police officers including new constables to be able to live decent lives which was far better than the situation NDC met in January 2009.

For the first time under the 4th republic, Ghana Police Service under the previous NDC Government were given very strong,long-distance and durable vehicles such as V8s among other brands of vehicles to enhance their operations.

It is also important to emphasize that under President Mahama, the numerical strength of Ghana police service increased from 23,204 in 2012 to 32,117 in 2014. This represented an increment of 8,913 personnel thus 27.8% in just two years under President Mahama. This led to improvement in the Police-Civilian Population ratio of 1:724 as against 1 police officer to over 1,300 civilians in 2008. The NDC under President Mahama was very keen on achieving the recommended United Nations benchmark of 1 police officer to 500 civilians. I am very confident that, if NDC had won 2016 elections, today, Ghana would have achieved this international policing benchmark. Nevertheless, Ghanaians have another fine opportunity in December 2020 to give President Mahama another opportunity to complete his developmental agenda for Ghana including all our security services in the country.

Let me also remind the inept and clueless Bawumia that, for the first time in Ghana’s history, Marine Police Unit was set up under the competent leadership of President Mahama during the NDC Government regime. This unit was also equipped with modern boats to guide and police Ghana’s territorial waters and boundaries. This is how visionary leaders fix problems and not just the ‘talk shops’ Ghanaians are inundated with by inept Bawumia and his boss corrupt Akufo Addo.

Today, the inept Bawumia is boasting of 567 vehicles they supposedly bought for the Ghana Police Service in almost 3 years in government. To end this epistle, I would like to humbly ask the inept Vice President Bawumia and his Government the following questions from their own campaign manifesto the basis for which Ghanaians signed the social contract with the NPP on 7th December 2016.

1). How many modern communication and policing equipment such as bulletproof verses have been provided to the Ghana Police Service?

2). What happened to the promise by corrupt Akufo Addo to build two new police hospitals one at Sunyani and the other in Bolgatanga to serve the health needs of police personnel? What are the levels of construction of these two projects if these projects really exist in the first place?

3). How far regarding the promise by corrupt Akufo Addo to build 2 new police training schools?

4). Last but not the least, how far about corrupt Akufo Addo’s Government to build new military hospital in Tamale as promised in the 2016 NPP manifesto?

These and many other questions are still lingering in the minds of many Ghanaians who stood in the scorching sun to vote for the clueless and corrupted Akufo Addo’s NPP Government in 2016. Certainly, Ghanaians deserve better not this mess and disaster.

God bless our homeland Ghana.

I am a citizen.

Baba Musah

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