GOVT TO SET UP POLICE MARINE UNIT IN WR (PAGE 42, AUGUST 19, 2010)

THE government is to set up a police marine unit in the Western Region to ensure maximum security of the oil and gas fields at the West Cape Three Points.
Proposals have also been made for the training of security personnel and the provision of the necessary logistics, as well as accommodation for security operatives to perform their duties effectively and to protect the oil fields and maintain law and order in the region.
The Minister of the Interior, Mr Martin A.B.K. Amidu, announced this at separate meetings with security operatives at Elubo, Half Assini and Jaway Wharf in the Jomoro District in the Western Region as part of his two-day working visit to the region.
He said the government set up a ministerial subcommittee in charge of oil and gas to work out a security plan for the oil and gas sector and that all those measures were embodied in the security plan which had already been submitted to the government.
Mr Amidu stated that with the oil find, there would be an influx of people and goods into the region, so it was necessary to ensure that the security operatives were well equipped to undertake their duties effectively.
He reminded the security personnel that the District Security Committee (DISEC), chaired by the district chief executive, with all heads of security as members, was the head of security in the district.
Mr Amidu called for co-operation among members of the committee to enable them to take security matters seriously, stressing, “You are here for one purpose, the security of the district”.
He urged them to assume the control and command of the security in the district and hold regular security meetings to address matters of security concern.
Mr Amidu said the government had taken note of the problems of the security personnel and that all were embodied in the Oil and Gas Security Plan.
He, therefore, urged them to be patient enough and work with dedication.
The interior minister stressed that it was not the policy of his ministry for security operatives to intimidate civilians and implored the civilian population to co-operate with the security personnel to maintain law and order.
The Sector Commander of the Ghana Immigration Service, Mr F.Y. Sarpong called for review of the Immigration Act 2000 to legalise the new functions that the service was expected to play, which included checking of smuggling activities, apprehending drug and human traffickers and checking money laundering.
















He said that would provide a very comprehensive legal framework, which would guide and regulate the conduct of operations of the service.
Mr Sarpong stated that due to lack of buffer zones at the Elubo border, miscreants who were staying along the River Tano took advantage of the situation to establish cocoa purchasing and fertiliser shops just about 10 metres away from the river, which demarcates Ghana and Cote d’lvoire.
He said a study conducted by the Border Patrol Unit of the Ghana Immigration Service revealed that most of the aforementioned products always cut across the Tano River at ungodly hours.
According to Mr Sarpong, personnel of the unit intercepted some of the products but could not arrest those that were already on the river en-route to Cote d’lvoire.
He said it would be prudent if the unit was provided with a speed boat and officers trained to man the boat and swim to help arrest the culprits and enemies of the state.