Spencer Wan Blog of Saturday, 21 December 2024
Source: Eric Afatsao
Social media is awash with allegations that the Akufo-Addo government is harassing and threatening to remove IGP Dampare for one reason or the other. While I respect the writers and their opinions, I wish to state as follows:
1. I don’t believe that Akufo-Addo has any intention to remove Dr Dampare. That’ll be too suicidal. Dampare has his own issues which has caused the NPP government police votes in the just ended elections. Some of us cautioned the government but they didn’t taj us serious. This same Akufo-Addo Addo has protected Dampare despite the unprecedented internal wranglings against Dampare in the GPS. So, I cannot believe that they would even dream about that now.
2. Rather, I believe that this is one of the usual “tricks” of Dr. Dampare and his supporters to get the attention of the President-elect to keep him in office.
3. Interestingly, the supporters of Dampare are quick to point out that since there is a suit in the SC against the removal of security chiefs, the President-elect cannot change Dampare. So it’s no longer the issue of NPP harassing Dampare, but the fact that Dampare supporters would do anything to keep Dampare in office, right?
4. Were we not in this country when Akufo-Addo signed e-levy despite a SC suit pending? What did we do? Have we not been paying e-levy since?
5. Nothing can stop the removal of Dr Dampare, unless the President-elect decides not to remove him. The pendency of that suit at the SC, in my respectful opinion, cannot in anyway prevent the president from removing Dampare.
6. In any case, why should a president-elect trust an IGP whose alleged private conversation with an outgoing president is allegedly leaked to the public?
7. Dampare has so many questions to answer ranging from alleged extrajudicial killings, misapplication of funds, high-handedness and bastardisation of police processes and procedures in favour of his cronies. These and many other issues in the GPS have pitched greater majority of GPS personnel gainst any government that supports Dampare, which was exhibited in the recents special voting.
8. Should this agenda setting by Dampare supporters succeed, the President-elect would be losing the police constituency right from the day of assuming office. In my respectful opinion, this won’t help the President-elect.