Editorial
Bringing kidnapping under control
One common occurrence these days is stories about kidnapping of children or some young people in certain parts of the country. The Western Region has been particularly noted for such occurrences.
It is, therefore, incumbent on the security agencies as well as the public to work hard and help bring such matters under control.
Kidnapping puts fear in many people and prevents them from going about their duties freely. Again, it is a security threat which prevents people from becoming confident and participating actively in social life and development.
Kidnappers usually demand money from the relatives of their victims before they are released. They ask for ransom and threaten to kill their victims if the ransom is not given. We, therefore, need to be careful about our movement by ensuring that we inform people we stay with whenever it becomes necessary for us to move away from our areas of residence to new places.
Of late, another motive for fake kidnapping has emerged. Here, individuals plan with others to fake that they have been kidnapped when, indeed, it is not true, so that upon payment of the ransom to certain people, the supposed victims will go back and share the booty with those they planned the activity with.
This is diabolical and must not be entertained by society because apart from the creation of fear and panic in the minds of people, it destroys the image of a country also.
Those who collaborate in fake kidnappings do so for money and this shows that our intelligence agencies be proactive and arrest the situation before it gets out of hand.
People should take note of the tricks of this nature so that they will not fall victims to them. Everyone including children, married and unmarried people as well as old people must not take things for granted but be prepared to notify the police of strange observations in their homes or neighbourhood.
The Spectator is of the view that maximum punishment ought to be meted out to perpetrators of kidnapping, whether they are fake or real, so that these unpleasant developments can be eliminated from our society once and for all.
Peace is very essential in society. For this reason, if there are security gaps such as kidnapping or threats to the peace of an area, it will distract people from what they will do for socio-economic development.
Every individual has a role to play to ensure the absence of kidnapping, whether fake or real.
Dear Editor,
I wish to use this esteemed platform to urge the traditional councils of Osu and La to call for independent investigation into the recent demolition exercise at Kaajaano.
The exercise rendered hundreds homeless.
Information about the reason for the demolition has been scanty with those desiring to know feeding heavily on social media posts.
One particular name –Jato, has been associated with it but under whose instruction the exercise was carried is also not known.
Sadly, instead of getting to know who ordered the demolition and for what reasons, traditional authorities of Osu and La have been embroiled in a tug-of-war over ownership of the said land.
This is premature. At this moment, they should call for investigation into the exercise to know the people behind it.
When that is done, then discussions about the owners of the site can begin. That would end the posture of the two neighbouring town which has the potential to turn into something else.
Ataa Osa Mensah,
Osu
Dear Editor,
I wish to use your respected platform to draw the attention of the Bank of Ghana (BoG) to the behaviour of traders and some drivers about the use of lower denomination coins, specifically the 20 and 10 pesewas.
About two weeks ago, I read in your sister newspaper, The Ghanaian Times about this problem and the caution that followed from the BoG and some economic analysts.
The warning they gave was that the continuous rejection of the notes could create pricing problems which can eventually affect inflation.
I thought that would put to bed that practice or refusal to accept the coins when given out as change or use to pay for particular service.
Unfortunately, the problem still persist among traders, drivers, customers and passengers alike. Only last week, there was as altercation in the Accra Central area where a woman refused to accept five 20 pesewas note totaling one cedi.
As the argument continued, the trader decided not to sell to the customer again after by-standers explained to her that it was still a legal tender and those that refused it could become offenders.
This is an issue the BoG and other regulatory agencies must go and explain to the people and let them know that it is unlawful not to accept a currency that is still in use.
It nothing was done, it could create a much more serious problems.
Mary Osei Badu,
Swedru
