Parliament gets police station
The Speaker of Parliament, Mr Edward Doe Adjaho, has said the recent terrorist attacks in some neighbouring countries in the sub-region makes it imperative for Ghana to secure its key strategic national assets.
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Speaking at the inauguration of a new police station within the precincts of Parliament House, he said an institution such as the country's legislature, which received large numbers of both local and foreign visitors, including high-level state officials, and served as a repository of highly classified information and materials of vital national interest needed to be protected and secured.
Police station
The police station, which is situated at the Western Gate of the State House, is to provide security for the legislative arm of government and all persons who enter its precincts.
The station will also offer services to officers of the State House.
The police station is a rehabilitated building which used to serve as the reception of the State House.
Accessibility
Mr Adjaho said the additional security measures were essential to ensure that any individual who entered the premises was searched but added that Parliament would still be accessible to all Ghanaians.
However, he said, all members, including himself, were subject to the security measures put in place by the police.
Minister of the Interior
The Minister of the Interior, Mr Prosper Douglas Bani, assured Ghanaians that adequate security measures had been put in place to avert any anti-terrorism acts in Ghana.
He, however, urged all Ghanaians to be vigilant, cautious and curious and report any suspicious acts or persons to the security agencies.
Majority and Minority leaders
The Deputy Majority Leader, Mr Alfred Agbesi, said the mode of terrorists, in their bid to create mayhem, was to attack prime installations "where it hurts most."
Parliament, he said, was a prime object of attack, hence the need for the police station to protect MPs, staff and visitors to the precincts of Parliament.
He urged the security agencies stationed at the entry points to thoroughly screen and search every individual or vehicle which sought to enter the precincts of Parliament.
The Minority Leader, Mr Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, said the world had changed considerably in the past few years so it was important that the nation took commensurate steps to protect its security.
He said until recently, Parliament, believing in the goodness of the typical Ghanaian, had taken things for granted but that could not continue.
The sub-region, he added, was experiencing turbulence so the nation needed to be proactive.
"For as long as the precincts of Parliament remain a shared enclave between Parliament and the Executive, and thus making Parliament a thoroughfare, the issue of security shall remain a challenge and that is why I think that the matter of the exclusive use of the enclave of Parliament should be resolved,'" he said.
The Clerk to Parliament, Mr Emmanuel Anyimadu, said in this era of global threat of terrorism, any initiative aimed at safeguarding lives and the property of the nation must be applauded.
He hoped the police station would serve the needs of Parliament well.
IGP
The Inspector General of Police, Mr John Kudalor, expressed gratitude to Parliament for its support but also asked for the cooperation of MPs as the police officers worked hard to protect them.