Sekondi, Nov. 26,-GNA-Mr Justice Sam Baddoo, Chairman of the Police Council, on Friday called on the Western Regional Police Committee to assist the Regional Security Council to maitain law and order. He made the call when inaugurating the 20-member Regional Police Committee at the Residence in Sekondi.

The committee, which has Mr Anthony Evans Amoah, the Regional Minister as the chairman, includes representatives from the 13 district assemblies in the region, Regional House of Chiefs, Ghana Bar Association and the Attorney-General Office. Mr Justice Robin Batu, Regional Supervising High Court Judge, swore-in members of the committee.

Mr Justice Baddoo further urged the committee to ensure that resources that would be provided to the Police in the region are well maintained and used to make Policing effective.

He said the main duty of the Regional Police Committee was to maintain law and order and this should be the focus of the members to enable to evolve the type of Police the country needs.

Mr Justice Baddoo said the Police Council is working hard to ensure that police personnel are paid attractive remuneration and the government has assured the council that the salaries of the Police would be reviewed.

He said since its inauguration, the Police Council has promoted about 90 Police Personnel whose promotions have been delayed. Mr Justice Baddoo said the Council is making every effort to improve accommodation for the Police as well as provision of vehicles and communication equipment to ensure effective Policing.

In an address read for him, Mr Albert Kan- Dapaah, Minister of the Interior, said although the Ghana Police is not a decentralized organisation, its presence in the district helps in promoting peace and stability and socio-economic development.

He asked District Assemblies to look at the maintenance of law and order as being linked with their development agenda.

Mr Kan-Dapaah said District Assemblies should be able to set aside a percentage of their resources to support the activities of the Ghana Police Service, particularly in the areas of accommodation and transportation.

He said this would complement the efforts of the government at the national level in addressing these problems.

Mrs Elizabeth Mills-Robertson, Deputy Inspector General of Police in-charge of Administration, called on the Regional Police Committee to look critically at the root causes of public order disturbances in the region.

She said the committee should advise the Regional Security Council on ways of curtailing the social canker that is fast consuming the very fibre of existence in the region.

Mrs Mills-Robertson urged the committee to assist the Police Council to come out with policies that will improve policing in the region and which would suit its specific needs.

She said Regional Police Committees would facilitate the dissemination of policies and programmes of the Police Council, offer suggestions and recommendations on how the police Administration could function more effectively in any region and monitor the conduct and performance of the Police as a corporate body as well as that of the individual officers. Mr Anthony Evans Amoah, the Regional Minister, said the region has not been able to tap or harness its rich resources fully for the benefit of the people due partly to some security problems that have caused distortions in the priorities of the region.

He said one major security problem facing the region is the issue of chieftaincy disputes and this problem has for sometime now engaged the Regional Coordinating Council to the extent that attention on developmental issues of the region has gone down.

Mr Amoah said, added to this is the issue of land litigation that does not encourage or entice potential investors into the region. He said the problem of illegal small-scale miners, which is currently being tackled by the National Security, requires the cooperation of all stakeholders to stamp out.

Mr Amoah said recent reports of some murder cases in some districts in the region give cause for concern but narcotic drugs are not a major issue in the region. 26 Nov. 06