45 NEW DISTRICTS TO GET NEW POLICE AND FIRE STATIONS

SATURDAY 15 NOVEMBER, 2014

The Police Administration is set to pursue an ambitious project that will see the establishment of police stations in all the forty-five new districts that were created in 2012.

The administrators of the men and women in black, The Chronicle learnt, has put a request before the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development to identify places for them to provide infrastructure that will enable the Service to set up police stations in the new districts.

The Service has for some time now been struggling to pursue an expansion drive, owing to the lack of funds. However, the leadership of the Police Service on Tuesday announced that they would post personnel to the new districts and provide logistics immediately funds are released to them.

The Minister for the Interior, Mark Owen Woyongo, made this announcement in Parliament when addressing issues pertaining to his outfit. He was summoned by the Speaker to answer questions that stood in the name of the MP for Yagaba/Kubore, Mustapha Ussif and the MP for Wa, Ameen Salifu.

The Yagaba/Kubore law maker wanted to know from the Minister when the Mamprugu Moaduri district would be provided with a police station, since there was none within the district.

Mr. Ameen Salifu, on his part, also asked the Minister when Funsi, the district capital, would be provided a fire station.

Answering the question as to when the Mamprugu Moaduri district would be provided with a police station, Mr. Woyongo said the Northern Regional Police Commander had been tasked to follow with the District Chief Executive, and the MP to assist with the provision of infrastructure to set up the police office in the district.

According to him, the Police Administration was yet to hear their response. He said it had been difficult to secure accommodation and space to house police stations and their personnel, and appealed to members of the public who could assist the police with such facilities to approach the Service for negotiations.

Commenting on the issue of the fire tenders, Mr. Woyongo, who is also the MP for Navrongo Central, said Funsi would benefit from one of the 80 new fire tenders that were recently commissioned in Accra.

“Mr. Speaker, it is worthy to note that whereas the Ministry of Interior is eager to cover all districts with fire equipment, it is expected that the beneficiary districts would also put in place operational stations and water systems to facilitate the efficient functioning of the fire stations”, he noted.

The House also took the Customs Bill 2014 through the consideration stage. This was followed by the laying of the Government Treaty on the Establishment of the Abidjan-Lagos corridor among the governments of the Republic of Benin, the Republic of Cote d’Ivoire, the Republic of Ghana, the Federal Republic of Nigeria and Republic of Togo by the Deputy Minister for Roads and Highways, Mr. Isaac Adjei Mensah.

The paper was referred to the Roads and Highways, Constitutional and Legal Affairs Committees. The Ghana International Trade Commission Bill 2014 and the Petroleum (Exploration and Production) Bill were also laid before the House.