Police were paid election duty allowance – IGP dismisses Mahama vote-buying claim

The Inspector-General of Police (IGP), James Oppong Boanuh has debunked claims by the flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), John Mahama that police personnel had been bribed to vote for the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP).

“I have received information that officers are being bribed with GH¢1,000 to vote for the NPP… If you have performed, you would not be paying to be voted for,” Mr. Mahama, who is also a former President said on his campaign trail in the Northern region last Saturday.

But in an interview with the Ghana News Agency, the IGP described the former president’s assertions as palpable falsehoods and unfounded, calculated to denigrate the institution of the Police Service.

According to the IGP, the monies given to the officers were their election duty allowances, which, hitherto, were paid after the officers had completed their election assignment, sometimes affecting their morale in the performance of that special national duty.

Mr. Oppong Boanuh said those monies were now being paid directly into the officers’ accounts, unlike previous times when they were paid on tabletops, which could be subject to abuse and other short changes.

He said the monies were basically Gh¢100.00 a day for five days and that the extra Gh¢100.00, which made up the total of Gh¢600.00, was intended to be used by the officers to sew their uniforms, which had been distributed to them, but were not sewn due to the consignment of uniforms arriving late, making it impossible for tailors of the Service to sew.

Mr Oppong Boanuh said all officers were expected to, without any excuse, be in the traditional police uniforms.

He said the monies given to them were a routine duty allowance and not what the leading opposition politicians were saying in certain quarters, adding that there was a similar disbursement during the COVID-19 lockdown.