Security Analyst and Executive Director of Jatikay Centre for Human Security and Peace Building Adib Saani has described as “disingenuous” the move by government to provide security for members of Parliament (MPs). According to him, the move is a betrayal of the trust the ordinary Ghanaians have put in the MPs, who appear to have left their followers to their fate. The decision to beef up personal security for the country’s lawmakers was announced in Parliament on Tuesday after the Minister of Interior, Ambrose Dery, met the legislature in a closed-door meeting. He told journalists after the meeting that 200 additional police officers will be deployed as bodyguards for the MPs with a plan to add 800 by close of year. All these are a fallout from the murder of the Member for Mfantseman Constituency on Friday, October 9. Mr Saani wondered what quantitative or qualitative analytical thinking went into this decision. “Is there any credible intelligence that points to the fact that this is the solution?” In his perspective, “we need a wider, multi-dimensional, multi-faceted approach to dealing with the broader issue of insecurity in Ghana”. Find his write-up below: Providing MPs bodyguards, a ceremonial gesture, and a betrayal to larger society… Following the killing of Mfantseman MP, Hon. Ekow Hayford Quansah, Minister for the Interior, Hon. Ambrose Dery, on Tuesday, announced that all Members of Parliament are going to be provided with personal bodyguards with immediate effect. Parliamentarians, like other professionals, are exposed to severe hazards by the nature of their work, and therefore need security. I however find the move to provide security to MPs disingenuous and a betrayal to the ordinary people of Ghana who it appears, have been left to their fate. Besides, it is impracticable to think that a policeman sitting in an MP or Minister’s car provides him/her invincibility. The criminals have become so vicious and bolstered in their operations to the extent that they go after bullion vans and even attack police stations and officers in broad daylight. If I may ask;
- Does the Police have the numbers in an era of heightened state and sense of insecurity among the population?
- What will be the impact on the police-civilian ratio in Ghana? So far as I am concerned, the police-civilian ratio is 1:900. The prescribed UN standards put it at 1:500. Meaning, providing 1200 police officers to 275 could have served over a million Ghanaians (200 officers with immediate effect, 200 officers by close of the year, 800 more officers in the future = 1,200 officers x 900 citizens = 1,080,000 citizens. Excludes officers attached to Ministers in parliament and leadership).
- Does the protection of the MPs far outweigh the general security of the population? Crime is increasing with over 1.2 million illegal guns and over 500 murders every year in Ghana (U.S. Department of State Travel Advisory, 2019).
- Who pays for the travel expenses of police personnel who travel with MPs to and from their constituencies?
- What quantitative or qualitative analytical thinking went into this decision? Is there any credible intelligence that points to the fact that this is the solution?
- Are recently recruited policemen experienced enough in the service to undertake the role of protecting MPs? This I ask because it is not every police officer who can perform bodyguard duties. It is specialized and requires extensive training.
