Minister Says Strike By Security Agencies Amounts To Mutiny

The Minister of the Interior, Mr. Mark Owen Woyongo, on Tuesday said security agencies under the Ministry that demonstrate or embark on industrial strike would be committing a grievous offence tantamount to mutiny. He said gone were the days when security personnel demonstrated and went on strikes and appealed to them dedicate themselves to national development. Mr. Woyongo said this at a durbar of security personnel at Takoradi during his familiarization tour of the Western Region on Tuesday. �You must be committed to the government of the day therefore you must show complete dedication and commitment to the government and you are not supposed to join any political party,� he said. He appealed security personnel who wanted to be politicians to resign from the security service and join any political party of their choice. The durbar brought together personnel from the Ghana Police Service, Ghana Immigration Service, Customs, Execise and Preventive Service, Ghana Prisons Service, Ghana National Fire Service and National Disaster Management Organization. The event afforded the personnel the opportunity to voice out their concerns and challenges militating against their work. The minister assured that government was committed to providing them logistical support and residential accommodation to enhance their work. Mr Woyongo said the Ministry of Water Resources, Works and Housing would from next year begin constructing between 2,000 and 3,000 high rise buildings for public sector workers and 500 of such buildings would be allocated to the security agencies. He urged security personnel charged with the responsibility of collecting revenue for the state to charge realistic fees and desist from any act of corruption that could deprive the country funds. The Western Regional Police Commander, Deputy Commissioner of Police Isaac Alex Quainoo, enumerated some logistical constraints affecting the smooth operations of the security services. He said in spite of these challenges the security agencies had managed to combat illegal small-scale mining and maintaining law and order.