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Dampare mismanaging Police Service; several officers not happy – COP Mensah
The Director of Operations of the Ghana Police Service, COP George Alex Mensah, has told the parliamentary committee probing a viral leaked tape that the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Dr. George Akuffo Dampare, is mismanaging the Police Service.
COP Mensah made the allegation during his appearance before the committee probing the tape in which some senior police officers are heard in a conversation with the former Northern regional chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Bugri Naabu, plotting the removal of the IGP.
COP Mensah said the IGP’s leadership has led to a decline in morale among many police officers.
“Dampare is not managing the Police Service well and the majority of police officers are not happy. You can call the police officers underground and they will tell you,” COP Mensah told the committee on Thursday, August 31.
COP Mensah also admitted to being a politician and working in the interest of a political party even though he failed to disclose the party he supports.
His comments echo similar sentiments captured on a leaked tape in which he is heard telling Bugri Naabu that the IGP must be removed to ensure that the NPP wins the 2024 elections.
COP Mensah also strongly refuted the authenticity of the tape.
He claimed that the tape had been doctored and did not accurately reflect the content of the original conversation with former NPP Northern Regional Chairman, Bugri Naabu.
During his appearance before the committee assigned to investigate the leaked tape, COP Mensah expressed his inability to verify several details on the tape.
He also firmly stated that there was no plan to remove the IGP, emphasising that the tape circulating has been strongly edited.
In a direct exchange with Committee Chairman Samuel Atta Akyea, COP Mensah stated that “this tape that was played today, to me was an edited tape, I have not heard any unedited tape for me to talk about as I sit here.”
COP Mensah added “The tape that I heard today, there are so many things in that tape that I don’t remember and there are so many things that we discussed that are not on the tape. I’ve met Bugri Naabu four times and we have discussed many things some of them private things that I am not ready to discuss in public
“I had a meeting with Bugri Naabu but I don’t remember having any plan to remove the IGP because I don’t remove IGPs.”
His claims completely contradict the testimony of Bugri Naabu who confirmed the veracity of the tape and also confirmed recording it in his private office in Osu.
Bugri Naabu also admitted that COP Mensah wanted him to discuss the possible removal of Dampare from office because he was not likely to help the NPP win the 2024 elections.
Ghana Tourism Authority is leading Ghana’s participation at ITB Berlin, which opened in Berlin with a vibrant national pavilion highlighting Ghana’s rich cultural heritage, tourism destinations and investment opportunities.
March 5 has been designated as Ghana Day, a special platform to promote Ghana’s languages, cuisine, Kente, festivals and business prospects to the global tourism community. The stand has already drawn strong interest with traditional arts and crafts displays, immersive multimedia presentations and popular Ghanaian snacks.
Seven private-sector players are exhibiting alongside government officials as part of efforts to deepen trade partnerships, expand market access, and attract investment across the hospitality, heritage tourism, ecotourism, and creative arts sectors.
Ahead of the official opening, the Ghana delegation also engaged young Ghanaian investors in Germany in collaboration with V Afrika-Verein and the Ghana Embassy, strengthening diaspora investment linkages and highlighting opportunities within the tourism value chain.
Ghana’s coordinated presence at ITB Berlin 2026 reinforces its strategy to position the country as the Gateway to Africa and a competitive destination for leisure travel and global investment.
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
