The Wa Municipal Chief Executive, Alhaji Tahiru Issahaku Moomin, has observed that public confidence in the security agencies was crucial for maintaining safety, promoting trust and cooperation and ensuring accountability and preventing abuse of power.

He said it was government’s policy of providing congenial environment for state institutions and the communities to collaborate efficiently and effectively to ensure the successful implementation of policies and programmes to improve on the living conditions of the people.

Alhaji Moomin said this during Police/Community Dialogue Session, held in Wa, to build trust and cooperation among community members and the police to improve relations and confidence and to diffuse suspicion between the two stakeholders.

He said for this laudable vision to be realised, there was the need for concerted efforts from the various stakeholders, as well as inter-sectoral collaboration among the security agencies and communities to enhance holistic development and peaceful coexi
stence.

Alhaji Moomin said: ‘It is an undeniable fact that there is bad blood between the Police and community members, which is negatively affecting the provision of quality service delivery, as there is always mistrust in the discharge of their duties, which is not supposed to be so.

‘The Police and the community should exhibit a cordial relationship. The police work to protect the people and so both parties should be able to relate well and fish out the bad nuts among the citizens and also prevent the loss of precious lives in their line of duty.’

Alhaji Moomin said improving police community relations and confidence required a multifaceted approach that addressed the historical and systemic issues that had led to mistrust and suspicion.

He suggested the initiation of Community Policing practices that would focus on building relationship, understanding community needs and engaging in proactive problem-solving activities, and engaging of the community by the Police Service through regular town halls for
a as well as youth programmes to listen to their concerns, build trust to promote collaboration.

The Wa District Police Commander, Chief Superintendent Franklin Kwasi Kramoh, said the Police had intensified patrols to make the community safe and appealed to the residents to volunteer information regarding the activities of criminals to the police and other security agencies.

He said the Police were undertaking school policing to ensure the safety of security guards, two of whom were killed recently in the municipality by alleged unknown assailants.

He appealed to the Wa Municipal Assembly to provide lights to brighten the streets and schools with lights so that the police and residents could see what was going on in those areas during the night.

Chief Superintendent Kramoh encouraged the residents to fortify their residences with CCTV Cameras and lights as a means of self-protection and also to help reduce burglary and robbery during the night.

He called for effective collaboration and cooperation with t
he security agencies to maintain sustainable peace for the people during this electioneering year to ensure that nobody destabilise the peace in the communities.

The Sunche Naa Y.O.D. Saaka, a Divisional Chief of the Waala Traditional Council, called on residents to consider themselves as stakeholders in the management and maintenance of peace in the communities.

He said their collective efforts would make peace to be realised and sustained but must be rested squarely on the shoulders of residents, especially the youth who must be prompted to observe the tenets of peace to always promote peaceful co-existence.

He said failure on the part of any individual to compromise his or her interest for the benefit of a larger society, and those who would not adhere to dialogue to settle disputes for human survival and development must be seen as enemies and should be weeded out.

‘Issues in the communities that have the potential of disturbing the peace must be discussed by all because they concern all and all must
discuss them appropriately and should not be taken for granted’, he advised

Naa Saaka advised the youth to always preach peace and share peace messages in all their activities and be sincere to report the bad ones among them to the security agencies without fear or favour.

The Wa Municipal Office of the National Commission for Civic Education organised the forum, which was attended by traditional rulers, opinion leaders, Assembly Members, teachers and school children.

The forum was funded by the European Union.

Source: Ghana News Agency