Nana Addo Orders Release of Funds to Fight Crime

The President, Nana Akufo-Addo, has directed the Finance Minister to release funds immediately for the purchase of state of the art equipment for the country’s security agencies especially the Police to fight crime.

Additionally, the President has also directed that the joint Police and Military under the ‘Operation Calm Life’ initiative, be intensified to cover every part of the country.

The directives were issued following a meeting  on Monday between the President and some security chiefs to deliberate on the recent upsurge in armed robbery activities in some parts of the country.

Citi News sources say the President also endorsed the unannounced swoops in areas suspected to be hideouts of criminals in the country.

It is recalled that the President in his 2018 state of the nation address, announced that an amount of 800 million Ghana cedis will be spent on re-tooling the Police Service.

Wave of robbery

There appears to be a heightened wave of robbery attacks in the country with the past week recording some of the worst cases.

A number of incidents have involved brazen attacks by robbers on individuals and organisations in broad daylight.

A Lebanese was shot and killed at Tema Industrial Area last week with the assailants making away with GHS 200,000 he had withdrawn from the bank.

Recent arrests

The Inspector General of Police (IGP), David Asante Apeatu, announced earlier last week that the police arrested a group of suspected robbers believed to be behind attacks on about 20 forex bureaux around the Spintex road area in just 2018.

The attacks on these Forex Bureaux were growing number of robberies and high-profile criminal activity in the region.

Mobile money transfer points have also been targeted by robbers in recent times.

Police shake-up

These incidents have prompted members of the public and some MPs to call for some of the heads of the security agencies, including the Inspector General of Police, David Asante-Apeatu.

The IGP has responded with a major reshuffle in the Service, with several officers given new assignments.

Dr. George Akuffo Dampare, Director General of Police Operations, was reassigned to head the Research and Planning Department.

He was replaced immediately by the Eastern Regional Police Commander, DCOP Simon Afeku.

Nine others were also reassigned to take up various positions across the country.

Source: Citifmonline