BONGO POLICE FACE ACCOMODATION PROBLEM

Story: Benjamin Xornam Glover, Bongo

LACK of accommodation and transportation for the police personnel in the Bongo District in the Upper East Region is affecting the work of the security officers working in the area.
The station, which was recently elevated to the status of a District Police Headquarters, is housed in a well-designed structure put up by the district assembly.
However, the absence of adjoining barracks and the failure of the Police Administration to supply the station with an operational vehicle is demoralising the personnel.
A recent visit by the Daily Graphic to the Bongo District Police Headquarters discovered that due to the problem of accommodation, about three police personnel were compelled to “squeeze themselves” into the conference room attached to the station.
Five other police personnel are said to be crammed in a guest house close to the station.
Speaking on anonymity, one the police personnel told this reporter that the unavailability of good accommodation and lack of logistics such as vehicles at the station was seriously affecting their performance.
"I think it is better for the public to know the situation, for them not to think that we have the tools but we are not working.
“Sometimes, the only means of transport at our disposal to effect arrest is the motorbike. How can we be effective in our jobs?,” he asked.
The policeman added that, "If we can be assured of decent accommodation and provided with all the needed logistics, the police will work well for the general public to appreciate it.”
The police therefore appealed to the government through the district assembly, to help provide accommodation for the personnel posted to the district, to facilitate their work.
When the Daily Graphic contacted the Regional Police Commander, Deputy Commissioner of Police DCOP Ofosu Mensah Gyeabour on the issue, he said it was the responsibility of the government to provide accommodation for the police service which was a public institution.
He said Bongo used to have a police station until the people themselves constructed a new structure for a District Police Headquarters, but failed to take into consideration the need for an adjoining police barracks.
The regional commander added that when the building was inspected, the defect was detected and the assembly’s attention was drawn to it.
According to DCOP Gyeabour, the DCE had assured him that the district assembly had planned in its next budget to help find a solution to the problem.