Wa West MP Cautions IGP

National Democratic Congress (NDC) member of Parliament for the Wa West constituency in the Upper West Region, Peter Lanchene Toobu, has cautioned the Inspector General of Police (IGP) George Akufo Dampare against what he says is the selective and politically motivated recruitment into the Police Service.

The Wa West lawmaker in a letter dated Sunday, 19 May 2024 and addressed to the Inspector General of Police, stated that he has reliable information to the effect that the IGP is allocating slots to the political class of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) as a new way of recruitment into the Ghana Police Service.

“It is trite knowledge that when the Police Pyramid is distorted for whatever reason, it has direct repercussions on police mandate, command and control, and overarching internal security implications.

“Disturbing information from a reliable source reveal that the Police Administration under your leadership has allocated slots to the Political class of the ruling party as a new way of recruitment into the GPS,” Peter Lanchene Toobu’s letter to the IGP read.

“It is, therefore, not strange that the information of protocol slots being on sale appears to be gaining traction [daily]. This alleged new normal in Police recruitment has devastating consequences for internal peace and security.

“Secondly, it has been revealed that your administration intends to add more numbers to Cadet Course 53 via protocol selection, though the Cadets are almost done with the first of the two-semester programme, You can at least recall the euphoria that greeted your appointment in 2021, and this should tell you the expectations of the Ghanaian people,” the lawmakers letter to the IGP further read.

In the letter, Mr Toobu indicated that the IGP’s “attention to the morale of the officers who work” at “the Police Headquarters as well as the thousands outside it will add” to his legacy after his time in office.

He further observed that he is “not a prophet of doom” but he “can see doom for the entire internal security architecture of the nation” should the IGP “go ahead to replace the age-old open recruitment system with a covert one where advertisements are no longer allowed and political affiliation becomes the only requirement. “

“More precarious still is the gradual surge in political influence in the selection of officers for police Academy training, and the obvious implications for likely partisan policing and selective law enforcement in the country.

“I believe it is time for you to appear before the Defense and Interior Committee of Parliament to brief the People’s Representatives on recruitment and promotion processes under your administration,” the legislator stated in his letter.

“The largest Cadet Officers’ Course since 1959 is the current one; Course 53, with over 400 officers. This is the number that you are allegedly still thinking of adding on.

“It looks bizarre to the national security family of our nation. I advise you to revise your notes if these allegations can be prima facied,” the lawmaker’s letter to the IGP concluded.

 

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