Fear grips Accra residents

…over increasing spate of crime
Posted: The Chronicle Thursday, May 07, 2009


By Charles Takyi-Boadu
There is growing concern about the security situation in the capital city, Accra. This follows increasing reports of cases involving armed robbery, fraud, mobile phone snatching and Internet fraud, otherwise known as ‘sakawa’, among others.
Though the police claim that crime is on the decrease, and have managed to make a couple of arrests in some cases, the contrary appears to be the situation, since the security situation in the country, especially Accra, keeps degenerating from bad to worse, as the days go by.
This is evident in a series of news carried by the various media houses, which seek to expose the activities and operations of some of these criminals.
In places like the Kaneshie market, Nkrumah Circle and Accra Central, it has virtually become a norm to see thieves snatching phones and other valuables from people in broad daylight.
It has therefore become either impossible, or extremely dangerous for Accra residents to go about their normal duties and transactions freely, knowing very well the constant danger they expose themselves to.
Some have even called for the return of the man labelled as the ‘Crime-buster,’ Assistant Superintendent of Police (ACP) Nathan Kofi Boakye, whose fate is still unknown, in spite of Presidential fiat by former President Kufuor, which exonerated him of any wrongdoing in a cocaine case in which the Georgina Wood Committee indicted him.
Though security expert and head of Conflict Prevention and Resolution at the Kofi Annan Peace Keeping Training Centre (KAIPTC) in Accra, Dr. Emmanuel Kwesi Aning, admits there is a surge in crime wave in the capital city, he was cautious in his submissions, saying the issue goes beyond Accra and its environs, but one that cuts across the entire nation.
According to him, when one goes to town, and talk to ordinary people including market women, forex bureau operators, owners of fuel stations, he or she would notice that they were all worried.
In an interview with The Chronicle, he attributed the increase in crime wave to the transition period, stressing, “During transition periods, criminals groups and criminal gangs always want to test the mettle of the new regime.”
To him, what Ghanaians are witnessing in recent times, is nothing but what he described as ‘a battle of field of accommodation’.
Dr. Aning said the country witnessed similar events in the year 2001, when former President Kufuor assumed office, and in 2004 when he was again re-elected to serve his second term of office.
He noted that the situation looks like a nationwide thing, and therefore stressed on the urgent need for those in charge to step-up their efforts in fighting crime and its related incidents.
“From where I sit, I think this is a testing of the mettle of those who need to deal with crime; the criminals are saying, are these guys up to the job.”
For this reason, he believes there was also the need for those responsible to respond as quickly as possible with some level of toughness, in order to bring things under control.
Dr. Aning was therefore not surprised that, in terms of the cost of doing business in Ghana, the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI) rated crime as the fourth.
This, according to him, was something the country needs to do something about, even if it would take resourcing the Ghana Police Service, and bringing in more intelligence.
“So far as people are beginning to feel uncomfortable, or beginning to think that this has a cost implication, then I think we need to do something about it,” he concluded.