Police Get $38,000 Checkpoint

As part of efforts to reduce crime on the Tarkwa-Bogoso main road, Golden Star Bogoso/Prestea Limited (GSBPL), a gold mining company, has constructed a police checkpoint and accommodation at Tintimhwe, a farming community to ensure 24-hour service. The construction of the facility, which cost $38,071.82, followed a series of robbery attacks on traders and passengers who ply the route. On Wednesday, October 16, 2013, at Yareyeya, a farming community along the Tarkwa-Bogoso road, armed robbers attacked passengers on board a Metro Mass Transit bus, including some workers of the mining company who were travelling from Tarkwa to Kumasi. The said armed robbers, who were led by a woman and wielded AK-47 rifles, blocked the road, stopped the driver and ordered the passengers to surrender their monies and other valuables. The project, which was executed with support from AEL mining services, Rockshure International, Erdmac mining services and Karibiana Pools, formed part of GSBPL�s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). The facility has a charge office, two rest rooms, detached toilets and washroom. There is also mechanised borehole and electricity. Inaugurating the facility last Tuesday, the Western Regional Police Commander, DCOP Isaac Alex Quainoo noted that his outfit had intensified patrol on the Tarkwa-Bogoso-Prestea and Wassa Akropong-Dunkwa-on-Offin roads to boost security. He mentioned that security was a shared and collective responsibility, adding it was not out of place for the management of GSBPL to construct the checkpoint and base for the police. He cautioned police personnel who would be mandated to man the checkpoint to avoid corrupt acts. �It is not a money collection point. The Regional Command will not take kindly to any report of unprofessional conducts against any member of the service,� DCOP Quainoo added. He was hopeful the police personnel would perform their duties professionally and diligently to combat crime. He, however, appealed to the gold mining company and other organizations to assist the police to procure communication equipment. Neale Laffin, Managing Director of GSBPL and Wassa Operations, disclosed that the company would continue to support initiatives aimed at helping to enhance security in the Prestea-Bogoso Huni-Valley district. �Enhancing policing, security and welfare of workers and the people living in and around the catchment area is without doubt, very dear to the heart of the company,� he asserted. He revealed that Vivo, a business partner of the mining company, was providing fuel for police escort vehicles with Golden Star Resources, as well as tyres and other maintenance requirements to the district police. �Golden Star and business partners encourage the District Security Council to support and make good use of the facility and adopt good maintenance culture,� he stressed.