At long last the Ghana 2008 tournament is here with us. All the sixteen participating teams and their supporters have arrived in the country. The Local organizing committee (LOC) has also done a fantastic job by providing accommodation for all supporters trooping into the country. This, and the excellent sporting facilities government has put in place, demonstrate that Ghana is well prepared to host the rest of Africa; thus, we say, bravo! to all those who have made this possible.
Whilst commending the government and the LOC, The Chronicle would, also, like to draw government’s attention to one important thing – security! The expected one million visitors to the country will have its own security implications. We think the international image of the country would be at stake if we fail to provide adequate protection for all these visitors.
We are raising this alarm because most of the supporters will be travelling by road to watch matches; therefore, if they are not given protection, Ghana would be blamed for any lapses that may occur. But, for the timely intervention by the two armed police personnel, passengers on board the Tamale bound Inter City STC bus would have been robbed at gun point by high way robbers.
Also, there were media reports last week that passengers travelling from Accra to Kumasi were attacked at a spot near Juaso in Ashanti region by armed robbers. Again, it was the intervention by the police that saved the passengers.
The Chronicle thinks that these two incidents should serve as a wake up call to all the security agencies to intensify their patrols on our highways during and after the tournament.
Nonetheless, we are not directing the security agencies, especially the police, what to do, since the police have already put in place the needed security measures.
We would, however, like to suggest that the night patrol on our highways be intensified, particularly, in areas not close to towns and villages to scare off armed robbers.
There are so many visitors in the country. The fear is that armed robbers would like to take advantage of these visitors and strike -government must strivse to avoid this ugly situation.
Conversely, it is our hope that the police consider seriously our suggestions to make the CAN 2008 tournament a successful one.
Source: GhanaWeb
