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Assin North: Dafeamekpor slams IGP over directive for bodyguards of MPs to surrender weapons
The National Democratic Congress (NDC) Member of Parliament (MP) for South Dayi, Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor, has criticized a directive by the Inspector General of Police (IGP) to have all police bodyguards of MPs surrender their weapons to the nearest police station in Assin North ahead of the by-election.
The IGP, George Akuffo Dampare, said the directive was one sure way of ensuring a peaceful election on Tuesday, June 27.
However, speaking to journalists in Assin North, Dafeamekpor said the IGP had no right to give such a directive, as it was unconstitutional.
“Bodyguards attached to MPs are part of their conditions of service. The IGP has no power to vary the conditions of service of a sitting MP in the same way he has no power to vary the conditions of service of a superior court judge in this republic.”
“So for him to issue a statement and say that Police bodyguards of MPs should surrender their weapons to the nearest Police Station is unlawful and unconstitutional,” he stated.
Dafeamekpor said the directive was an attempt to intimidate and harass MPs, and he called on the IGP to withdraw it immediately.
The directive by the IGP has been met with mixed reactions. Some people have argued that it is a necessary measure to ensure a peaceful election, while others have criticized it as being unconstitutional.
Source: Citinewsroom.com
The Member of Parliament for Nsawam Adoagyiri, Frank Annoh Dompreh, has expressed concern over delays in the release of the District Assemblies Common Fund, warning that the situation is stalling development across the country.
On his facebook page, he described as a matter of urgent national importance, the Minority Chief Whip pointed to what he sees as a growing crisis of unpaid contractors, abandoned projects, and halted infrastructure works in many districts.
He noted that several communities are grappling with half completed schools, unfinished health facilities, abandoned markets, deteriorating roads, and stalled sanitation projects.
According to him, many contractors who have executed projects for district assemblies have not been paid, forcing some construction firms to demobilise from sites while workers lose their jobs.
He stressed that the District Assemblies Common Fund is not a discretionary allocation but a constitutional requirement under Article 252 of the 1992 Constitution, intended to support development at the local level.
In his view, years of delayed releases and accumulated arrears have weakened district development financing and disrupted projects meant to improve living conditions in communities.
He further argued that some payments made in recent years were largely the settlement of old debts rather than funding for new or ongoing projects, a situation he believes has affected contractor confidence and local economic activity.
He described the issue as more than a budgetary challenge, characterising it as a development emergency and a governance concern.
He therefore urged the appropriate authorities to pay outstanding DACF arrears, settle contractors who have completed their work, and ensure that transfers to districts are automatic and predictable.
He maintained that decentralisation can only succeed when district assemblies receive adequate and timely funding to carry out development projects.
He emphasised that stalled projects directly affect ordinary citizens, since they rely on such infrastructure for education, healthcare, transportation, sanitation, and economic activities.
He called for renewed attention to grassroots development, insisting that national progress should not be concentrated only in major cities but extended to all communities.
By: Jacob Aggrey
Richard Appiah, the footballer who killed two children and stored part of their bodies in a fridge at Abesim in the Bono Region in 2021 has been handed a lifetime sentence.
This was after a five member panel of judges at the Accra High Court returned a verdict of guilty against the convict.
Appiah, 32, also a draughtsman would spend the rest of his life in prison after he was convicted of murder.
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BY MALIK SULLEMANA
