RECAP
IGP: Anytime anybody and mostly at the highest level need to be reassigned I call them personally. Some of them after we have discussed at POMAB and think that this person should go here and go there, at times you put it across for POMAB to look and suggest names that will go to places and I call them personally to check and plead with them based on my regimental diplomacy. So, that they can go and function there. So that they go with a very positive and encouraged mindset. So that at the end of the day when those people have issues maybe my child is preparing for BECE, maybe I just moved my family from this place and my wife or somebody involve in something. We consider it and when we consider that we stop it and then find alternative officers to handle them.
CONTINUATION
IGP: And finally, another soft of, until recently that I have reduced it, everyday across the country I pick one police officer in each region, celebrating his birthday or her birthday and I call to wish the person a happy birthday. All in the quest of bring everybody on board, especially the limited number who by natural law will not be with you so that they will also feel comfortable and belong.
Imagine you are there in your district or station and you receive a call and IGP said today is your birthday and I want to wish you a happy birthday. There have been two instances that I have been in a region Nicodemusly organised for cake and walk to a police station and hand the cake over to the person and then it becomes a party there and then. So, we know that not everybody will like us but we have a way of making sure that everybody feels belonged and done that with my colleagues as a team and getting to that.
Now coming to the other issue of the Public Affairs Department. Honourable Chair, it is something we have discussed at POMAB, agreed upon a strategy for redefining our engagement with the public in a manner that sits well with international best practice.
There was a system when we get up in the morning everybody across the country, across at times district, division and regional level granting interviews on matter of police from a perspective that at times not informed by full facts and at the end of it all, when the facts come the organisation look unpresentable and keep dampening the spirit of the organisation and continue to smear the image of the service in bad light.
So we agreed at POMAB that we need to redefine it as part of our transformation agenda such that , at the end of the day, before you speak to a matter, be sure that you have the full facts ,so that gradually we create a system where something happens, the whole community the whole people will say that until the police have come out ,we don’t believe what is being said rather than having a system where everybody is talking with half-truths, and putting the police in bad light because people think that it’s coming from the police it’s not credible again.
How can we then win the hearts and minds of the public to partner with us to police them in a manner that will make the country feel at peace. So, all this matter is not the invention of Dampare; it is something that we have looked up and got all the commanders at all levels involved got their inputs before you can handle. I quite remember a police management meeting with regional commanders’ meetings were held and all the PROs were brought and they deliberated on this and we all saw that this is good for the organisation.
Then the question that came: Then how do we do things and inform the public timely, so that there won’t be any gap? Then we said that we will not sit down for things to happen on Friday and we behave as if we are not a security institution. We say that it is in the weekend to so we will inform the public the next Monday but we know from my little understanding of media and information space. It’s like a chair. Whoever walks in first sits on it and you cannot come and sit on top of him or her. By that time, the public might have been informed or misinformed based on this information. So, we need to have a very efficient way of getting information there as soon as possible. That is why you see that in recent times, information from police across all our media space are delivered on matters as long as soon as we have the full facts that will inform the public to continue to deepen their trust, confidence and respect for us, we do that irrespective of the time of the day. You can have us seen coming out with the information in the morning, in the afternoon, in the evening, in the night and at dawn. And at times when you release information at dawn then you hear next day people saying this people don’t, they sleep? Because we love what we do and we are committed doing it.
So, we are living international best practice and this has redefined the way we go about pushing half through there and using that to dampen the spirit of the organisation. And finally, we have even gone to the extent of ensuring that when that information is out there, there is no way it becomes something that people cannot rely on. So, Honourable Chair, there is nothing that we are doing that is not informed by our strategy to transform and become the best institution in the country and reference point for the world. And by way of example, internationally and nationally, we are also learning from other institutions the way they conduct their public affairs.
So, the international standards we are looking for, is both national in character and international in character also national in character we design. So, we are very focus in working together as a team and with the public and with all stakeholders including Parliament, to ensure that we have the best police service in Africa and beyond. I thank you.
Atta Akyea: The gentleman over here has covenanted with me to ask just one more question then, I come to vice because we are about to conclude today’s proceedings. So honourable you have the floor.
Peter Toobu: Thank you very much Chairman. I have one question and then I will just make it very brief. It is in two parts A and B. The A is just requiring you to say Yes or No. A is just requiring you to say Yes or No. IG, IG has Chief Bugri Naabu ever lobbied for you to become or to be appointed Inspector General of Police? Just Yes or No.
IGP: Honourable Chair, the fundamental point is this. I have been in the service all this long but the grace of God
Atta Akyea: I crave your kind indulgence; your man is saying just answer Yes or No. Was he part of the lobbying team to get you I mean appointed as the IG? Yes or No.
IGP: Honourable Chair
Atta Akyea: Yes
IGP: The answer is no.
Peter Toobu: IG, you should count yourself very lucky that you found a parliamentary committee telling you that this document here CI-76 should be reviewed. I am sure if you wanted to review it and you wanted to get parliamentarians to listen to you, you will go through a lot of frustration, so this is free counselling. The last question: You and I know that if a police regional commander reports to you that a particular regional district commander doesn’t have the capacity to become a district commander and he wants you to transfer him or her, the question you will be asking is “where should I send him or her to?” What have you done about the incapacity or the incompetence of such an officer? You have the responsibility to recommend capacity building for such an officer so that the person will be updated for use. You can’t abandon an officer and the government will be paying such a person. At your level, if you find an Assistant commissioner, a chief superintendent of police probably six – seven years in his rank not being promoted by virtue of the fact that the person’s competence level is questionable. IGP, two options: Abandoned to root or spend money to build capacity and promote and use. Which one will be your choice? Thank you.
IGP: Honourable Chair, the most important thing is that it is something that we have found the way of deliberating upon it since I came on board as the head of the organisation. And my colleagues and I we’ve not been able to agree and knowing the point I have made here, that I have always been a team player and once we have not had a solid consensus that has been the bane of the issue. But I can assure you it is a deep reflection for us and we are going to look at it and we will work with God’s speed and get that thing handled in a manner that everybody will feel at peace. I Thank you.
Atta Akyea: Now Vice Chair
James Agalga: This question may not sound palatable to ears of the political class but nevertheless I will ask with your kind permission chairman. IGP, it has been said here that you are in the habit of arresting politicians for traffic infractions. An example was given to the effect that a second vice chairman of a political party was arrested by, they said you. What is your reaction to this? Do you apply your laws in a targeted manner with the aim to fishing out politicians and dealing with them so to speak. I need your reaction to them because it’s very important you know.
IGP: Honourable Chair, the most important thing is this: I am the Inspector General of Police. I work in concept with my officers at POMAB and all other commanders across the country. As we sit here, people are being arrested in accordance with law. I am not the one doing the arrest. So, I have not personally arrested anybody by being discriminatory. It is just that police officers are out there doing their work of enforcing the law and they are not doing it on my instructions.
They are doing it in accordance with the laws of the country, which has been passed by Parliament. So, this is exactly what they are doing out there. And we understand the discomfort that such arrest by these officers happen and I pray and wish that as a country we will get to a point where our compliance with law will be such that those arrests will not even arise. Because Honourable Chair you will agree with me, when my colleagues and I had an opportunity with this privilege and once again with appreciation to Mr. President for appointing me as the Inspector General of Police. In our quest to transform, we saw that indiscipline on our roads were getting to a point of no return, and the number of accidents and the associated deaths or injuries leading to amputation of legs and hands and other parts of the body was becoming something unthinkable. So, we decided to work in a way that will send a right message to everybody that let us come back to our Ghanaian-ness of being discipline for the sake of the lives of everybody. So, the arrest of people is so unpleasant to the leadership of the police service, especially when they are involved in people occupying important positions in society not to say that anybody is above the law anyway. But to make the point we wanted as a team and as an institution responsible for the work that they are doing to encourage everybody to be in compliance and the level that the thing has gotten to, we needed to come out with something that will send the message, which as we speak has been sent. Now look at the sanity on our roads. Look at the number of lives being saved and let’s go to the hospitals and find out the reduction in amputation of legs, hands and other parts of peoples’ body because somebody is being discipline on the road. And as I keep saying if you have had patience enough to be in our mothers’ womb for nine months before birth, you should be patient enough to wait for two minutes or less for a traffic light to come green or be patient enough to knowing that I am travelling and I need to catch my flight and the flight is say at two o’clock to finish everything and get to the port before that, than to be in hurry and then be in the middle or some other places impeding the free flow of traffic. The questions that we normally ask so touchwood, supposing whiles we were going you knock somebody down. What will you do? Will you still continue the journey or you will stop? So, putting all these together, we were mindful of what is it need to be done in order to regain the consciousness of the people so as to save lives and the final thing in relation to that is the arrest of motorbikes under one of the initiatives that my colleagues and I have put in place, called operation PARI -Police Action Against Rider Indiscipline. We looked at it and we said that riders crossing red light left right center, driving on pavement and all that is also another bigger problem but we cannot apply the same methodology for dealing with the same vehicle to the riders because these riders, that is the riding he or she does mostly he, for his livelihood. And at times even the value of the motorbike that they are using is at times less than GH₡1,000 cedis or maximum some GH₡2,000, GH₡3,000 and they do this indiscipline and you are arrest such a rider and you send him or her to court and the court found him or her guilty and say that you are supposed to find and pay a compensation about GH₡1,000, even if he sells the motorbike, he won’t be able to raise the money. So, we have been circumspect and we do not send those people to court. We rather get them arrested, educate them and then release them and keep the education going. And out of that, we even established Police Riders Ambassador to continue to engage these people so that together we will bring discipline on our roads in our communities and these has led to the reduction that we have out there and that led to the situation for a long time, having riders average of about 90%, we are still on it. We have not gotten to 100% yet stopping at traffic light and waiting for the green to signal before they move on. I thank you.
Atta Akyea: So, vice will ask his last question and then we bring proceedings to a close.
James Agalga: Oooh thank you chairman for granting me the opportunity but I have exhausted my questions.
Atta Akyea: Alright. I want to read to the benefit of the witnesses before this committee and I want to call attention to bear on Article 1036 of the constitution A committee appointed under this article shall have the powers, rights and privileges of the high court or a justice of the high court at a trial for A, enforcing the attendant of witnesses and examining them on oath, affirmation or otherwise, compelling the production of documents and C, issuing a commissioning or request to examine witnesses abroad. We had an issue with Bugri Naabu who said issues of chieftaincy, National House of Chiefs meeting he couldn’t show up today and we oblige him that he comes tomorrow. So, tomorrow is a sitting of this committee. We are also asking the minister for National Security to appear tomorrow. So, Inspector General of Police I know you are a very busy man, tomorrow come with your two lawyers, as we continue proceedings. When we meet you will have a sense of where we are going with this matter. But all that will happen will relate to first of all the audio, which is being said is doctored and then the second audio that it is being said captures the comprehensiveness of the meeting in Chief Bugri Naabu’s office. So, counsel I read the constitution not for the benefit of the IGP but for your benefit, because of where you were treading. And we will see how it puns out tomorrow. But if the IGP could some of your senior officers I mean should remain at post you know so they don’t come over, it could be good so that they would be attending to businesses in the Police Headquarters but we have seen them, respect their coming. We have in our midst also one of the decent ladies who glorify womanhood in the political arena. She is the Deputy Minister for Finance, Honourable Abena Asare. You have some association with lawyer Kwame Gyan or what is it?
Abena Asare: With both of them, they are all from Atewa and that’s why I am here today. Lawyer Kwame Gyan and the IGP.
Atta Akyea: I didn’t know this. I didn’t know it’s a fact. She has never told me. I have never done that I have never investigated the IGP as to where he comes from, I have never attempted there.
James Agalga: Chairman and yet you are the Atta Akyea of Kyebi.
Atta Akyea: Yes, yes (Laughter in the room) Yes but the two people are all my subjects you know? This gentleman and then Abena, but she is not giving me the largesse of her office. I leave it to God. So IG, this how tomorrow’s proceedings are going to begin. Bugri Naabu will be here. He should come. I mean by this medium he is hearing my voice. He should come with his lawyers of consequence. The witnesses should come back tomorrow with their lawyers. The Inspector General of Police should come with his lawyers, the Minister for National Security should show up with his lawyers and proceeding will continue. I was glad when I heard the IG saying that in relation to arresting with politicians with vehicle when they are in a rush. There is also the arrest of individuals using motorbikes but the police establishment exercises discretion in the manner in which they apply sanction. The politicians go and pay the huge fines and then the motor people are educated. I think it is a very fair and reasonable way of human engagement, so tomorrow I will exercise a similar discretion (room thrown into laughter).
Atta Akyea: Yes ummm on this note…..(Agalga whispers into his ears about the presence of the Ashaiman MP) Okay, yes, Hon Norgbey Ernest from Ashaiman, you are most welcome. We thank you for joining us. So, tomorrow’s time is 10:00 a.m. in the forenoon and we hope to see all the individuals here and then we proceed. We appreciate your coming and in the absence of any other matter. IG you want to say a word?
IGP: Yes, Sir Honourable Chair, by way of my concluding remark because I know after you have spoken, I won’t have the opportunity to speak. Having said that, I want first of all to thank you and the members of the committee for the invitation to come and to speak. I also will like to thank my family – the Akyem one, the Kwahu one, the Akropong one and the Nkonya representing the Guans one for the encouragement and the support.
I also want to thank Church of my birth and my upbringing, the Presbyterian Church of Ghana for their prayers and support across the country. And again, I want to thank the Church of my baptism and fellowship, the Church of Pentecost from chairman himself to the least person for their continued prayer support towards me and more importantly, I want to thank Mr. President for his continued repose in trust in me and the support he gives me. And finally, I want to thank the good people of Ghana, the good people of Ghana their words of encouragement, their support and everything. In the contest of thanking the good people of Ghana, I want to also thank the thousands of police officers across the country for the excellent job that they are doing and the many sending me letters of encouragement, words of encouragement, phone calls and everything and I assure them, that I will continue doing my best in that capacity in service of God and in country. I thank you very much, sir.
Atta Akyea: Well, it’s good you came and God permitting, tomorrow, we will continue the proceedings. On that note, the proceedings are hereby adjourned to tomorrow at ten o’clock in the forenoon and on that note as well, the head of Ghana’s Police Service, and all the witnesses are discharged. Thank you very much.
