A lecturer at the Department of Sociology and Social Work at the University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Dr. Jones Opoku-Ware, says the immediate past Inspector General of Police, Dr. George Akufo-Addo, despite his flaws, has done remarkable work.
He said judging from the work done, his track record, and how he has positioned the GPS, it would have been best to maintain him to serve his final years; however, politically, the new administration changed him, and it may be based on facts we may not be aware of.
The lecturer, who is also a criminologist, said his removal is not surprising, but he is pained that he was not maintained because he felt that if we are running an institution like the Police Service in a very professional way, nobody can take away the work that Dr. George Akuffo Dampare had done over the past three or four years.
He opined that it is also understandable that the president, who is the appointing authority, is endowed with the powers to appoint; hence, it is most simplistic for the politicians to justify the removal of the IGP, but “my point is that we are building a nation, an institution, and for me, for every society to progress, we need strong institutions. We have to strengthen and build our institutions. You don’t destroy them through politicking and claiming that you have the right, because not everything we have the right to do is beneficial.”
He added, “I will never fault the president for removing Dampare from his position. I believe it is the president’s right to do so, but if I am to make a decision about who to work with and who should not, my priority will be based on track record and the capacity to work. Loyalty is commonly used in the security services, which is understandable given the nature of the job.
But I don’t think somebody like Akuffo Dampare, because of the level of professionalism he has demonstrated over the years—anybody can question whether the president will be at any security risk when he (Dampare) is the IGP.”
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana
