A security Analyst and CEO of Security Warehouse, Adam Bonaa has intimated that, the country, with regards to security and safety, has no source of funding.
Speaking during a discussion which sought to assess Ghana’s security amidst the increase in crime rates, he averred that other sectors have levies which funds them but it was not so in the safety and security sector of the country.
“The problem we have in this country with regards to security is funding. When it comes to energy we have the energy levy, when it comes to roads we pay… with education too we pay because we have the education fund. But when it comes to security and safety, there is no source of funding.”
Adam Bonaa
He revealed that, every year crime rates go up especially during and after elections. He averred that, there is still a challenge with security, which the authorities are aware of but it has not been analysed and the needed resources have not been put together to handle it.
Also speaking during the discussion, Colonel Festus Aboagye, security analyst and teaching consultant on peacekeeping at the Kofi Annan Peace Keeping Training Centre, posited that, there are issues of general security in the country.
He also disclosed that there are numerous unresolved issues of murder because the police has not reported the issue to the populace and this raises questions on the safety and security in the country.
“Let me say this, nobody does the country a favour by withholding crime statistics from the electorate. It is a constitutional responsibility and principles for government to be accountable. So, institutions like Ghana Police Service which have … on providing statistics on crime related issues are not doing the country no favour.”
Col. Festus Aboagye
He then stated that in the absence of the data, it is very subjective for the minister designate to appear before the parliamentary vetting committee, to say that they are in control and Ghana is safe.
“Yes, Ghana is safe, but how safe are we or how less safe are we? The only way to do that is to have the data so that all of us can speak to the data.”
Col. Festus Aboagye
Touching on police suicide, he stated that aside the three new ones, there has been seven recorded already in the country which he added speaks to the morale of the service.
He further lamented on the fact that the nation is confronted with the issue of transparency, as the authorities are not coming clean as to where the nation stands with regards to crime rate. He said since May 2017 the police has not published crime statistics of the country.
He then suggested the use of scientific approach to manage the security approach in the country.
Also contributing to the discussion, the Former Interior Minister, James Agalga intimated that the case of armed robbery attacks is alarming referring to the recent attacks on the ambulance driver who was shot dead and the tomato truck drivers.
He averred that there is a general state of insecurity in the country and added that, armed robbery is a major issue that has to be tackled.
