A ROOF OVER THE POLICE (JUNE 15, 2009)

ShelteR, food and clothing have been identified as the basic necessities of life. In fact, students of politics have argued that democracy is not a guarantee of abstract liberties but that it is about shelter, food and clothing, without which life is meaningless.
The report that the Police Administration has had to suspend enlistment of persons into the Ghana Police Service this year because of inadequate housing facilities is very disturbing, indeed.
Apart from issues such as low morale, low salaries, lack of equipment and risks associated with their work, police personnel have to contend with the deplorable condition of their accommodation facilities.
A visit to the barracks exposes the ugly spectacle of makeshift quarters used to accommodate police personnel and their families
Rooms meant for newly trained recruits are now occupied by senior police personnel and their families. In fact, at some police barracks rooms reserved for kitchens and washrooms have to be converted into bedrooms for police personnel.
We know that the police have a culture of lack of maintenance that is not helpful. Sometimes landlords and landladies have ejected police personnel from their houses because of the inability of the personnel to maintain the houses. Those who have allowed the police to continue to live in their houses have sometimes regretted because of the state of disrepair they leave behind.
The Daily Graphic, therefore, welcomes the decision by the Police Administration, under the leadership of Mr Paul Tawiah Quaye, to determine the status of all police projects in the country within the shortest possible time.
Many of those projects were initiated as far back as 1970 but some of them were unfortunately abandoned, while others were completed over time.
The fact that the Police Administration is taking inventory of the accommodation projects does not necessary mean that the acute accommodation problem facing the police will be solved as soon as possible
It is for this reason that the Daily Graphic calls on the government to mobilise resources to complete the projects to provide decent accommodation for police personnel.
We are mindful of the dire economic conditions of the country. However, given the strategic role the police play in the maintenance of security, law and order, as well as peace, it should be a matter of national priority to provide accommodation for them.
The Ministry of Education has embarked on a housing scheme under which teachers and educational workers will be assisted to own houses. The Ministry of the Interior can emulate that example to embark on a similar scheme for the Police Service. That initiative can be extended to take care of abandoned or stalled police accommodation projects.
We also call on civil society groups, philanthropists, banks and corporate bodies to complement the efforts of the government at providing decent accommodation for our brothers and sisters in the Police Service.
We will fail in our duty to give the police the necessary support and motivate them to provide security and maintain law and order in the country if we fail to provide the needs of the security agencies.