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Use fit for purpose vehicles in transporting cash – IGP after foiled robbery attack
The Inspector General of Police (IGP), Dr George Akufo Dampare, has renewed calls for using armoured vehicles in the transport of bulk cash following a foiled robbery attack on a bullion van on Tuesday.
The attack at the Industrial area in Accra left at least three persons with various degrees of injury who are currently on admission at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital.
In a statement on Facebook hours after the attack, the IGP said, “Beyond the Police intervention, the armoured bullion vehicle used saved the lives of the officials and the Police officer on-board the vehicle even though the robbers fired into the van.”
According to the IGP, “It has, therefore, become necessary to re-echo the Police Administration’s call for all financial institutions in the country to resort to the use of such fit for purpose vehicles for their cash in transit activities.”
In June last year, following four rampant attacks on bullion vans across the country, the Police Service cautioned banks regarding cash transportation.
hen IGP, James Oppong Boanuh, directed banks to ensure that they procure fortified armoured vehicles to cart cash within the country.
He warned that the Service is ready to withdraw its regular escorts if the financial institutions fail to comply with the directive by the end of the month.
It seems not much has changed as the current IGP reiterates similar calls on the financial institutions as attacks on bullion vans rear its head.
The Police Administration commended the Police officer whose intervention foiled the robbery incident.
Four bullion vans attacked in the first half of 2021
The first half of 2021 recorded four bullion van attacks.
JoyNews checks reveal that the robbers bolted away with the cash on-board the vehicles in three of the incidents.
In two of the cases, the police officers escorting the van lost their lives.
On January 18, 2021, some highway robbers numbering about 10 attacked a bullion van travelling on a section of the Adansi Fomena road in the Ashanti Region, and an amount of ¢500,000 was stolen.
In broad daylight on March 1, 2021, a bullion van belonging to a popular bank was robbed on the Spintex Road at Baatsona near the Danpong Hospital by some armed men numbering about four, according to eyewitnesses.
The situation got worse in June as two bullion vans were attacked within three days.
The first incident happened on June 14, 2021, when a bullion van was attacked at Adedenkpo near James Town in Accra.
The Police officer escorting the van and a woman were killed, with the driver sustaining serious injuries. The robbers bolted with the money.
On June 17, 2021, the second attack occurred when a bullion van was attacked on the Winneba-Accra highway.
The unknown assailants shot at the van at the Okyereko and Dominase on the Winneba-Accra stretch.
Aside from the driver, the van was occupied by two police officers with an amount of ¢550,000 on board.
Fortunately, they escaped the gunshots and were rescued by the Winneba Divisional Police, who escorted them to Accra.
Source: www.myjoyonline.com
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
