Call Interior Minister, IGP to order – Bureau of Public Safety to Bawumia

The Bureau of Public Safety is calling on the Police Council chaired by the Vice President of the Republic, and other stakeholders to halt a decision to arm all personnel of the Motor Traffic and Transport Department (MTTD) of the Ghana Police Service.

According to the Bureau, there is a need to educate the general public and train personnel of the MTTD department before launching fully into this directive.

In an interview with The Ghana Report, the Executive Director, Nana Yaw Akwada indicated that the Bureau is excited about these bold measures to ensure the safety of personnel but was worried about the lack of adequate training for the MTTD officers who are now to wield weapons.

Mr. Akwada noted “Providing arms and ammunition to all MTTD personnel without first equipping them with the requisite soft skills and also educating or informing citizens may not be the best”.

“The potential repercussions that may accrue from ignoring them will only aggravate an already conflictive interaction between police and citizens, ” he added.

He further said there is a need to develop and strictly apply Standard Operating Procedures for all Police personnel applying themselves in various circumstances requiring and or involving citizen engagements.

The Bureau is therefore calling for a holistic intervention to prevent further police-citizen encounters from deteriorating.

“We urge the Interior Minister, Mr. Ambrose Dery and the Acting Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mr James Oppong Boanuh to hasten slowly in their quest to authorize and arm personnel of the MTTD, ” he stressed.