Takoradi, March 16 GNA - The use of the Peduase Lodge by the Ghana Police Service was a temporary measure, the Inspector General of Police, Nana Owusu Nsiah told a public forum in Takoradi on Tuesday.

The IGP was reacting to a question at a public forum organised by the Police Service to educate the public, the media and political parties on the need to ensure peace and tranquillity during the current voters' registration exercise and the forthcoming general election at Takoradi.
The questioner had said the Police should not have been allowed to use the Lodge as a place of abode for its personnel and Nana Nsiah conceded that Police personnel were not qualified to use the Peduase Lodge, which was purposely built as the residence of the First President, Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah.
The IGP, however, explained that the Police personnel were temporarily housed at Peduase Lodge due to the acute accommodation problem the Service was facing.
He said it was to enable the Police Administration to complete work on a structure it had acquired to accommodate some personnel. Nana Nsiah said work on the structure had been completed and the Police personnel at Peduase Lodge were being sent into the new structure.
He said although the Government had done much to improve the existing facilities of the Service they still needed more. Nana Nsiah said it was for this reason that the Service had been using facilities of some other organisations to train their personnel.
He said negotiations were currently going on with the Ghana Education Service to permit the Police Service to use the former Ajumako School of Languages' structures to train Senior Police Officers. Nana Nsiah, therefore, appealed to the general public, businessmen, organisations and patriotic individuals to assist the Police Service to renovate Police Stations and Barracks to ensure efficient discharge of their duties.
He said the Government had made funds available to the Service to replace all pan latrines at the barracks with water closets. On Election 2004, Nana Nsiah said the Police was firmly on the ground and would deal ruthlessly with any person or group of persons, who would try to undermine the peace of the country.
He urged Members of Parliament to get their followers to know that cordial relation existed among them at Parliament House. Nana Nsiah pointed out that all Ghanaians could not belong to one party and, therefore, "there is no need for us to look upon our political opponents as enemies".