Berekum (B/A), June 24, – The concerned citizens of Berekum in the Brong-Ahafo region have threatened to resist any attempt to impose a district chief executive on the people, saying that such a move would be a recipe for instability and chaos. In a seven-point resolution adopted at a meeting by members at the weekend, the association viewed with concern attempts being made by some political figures to get their favourites appointed for the post without resort to normal procedures. It said it has come to the attention of members that although certain individuals were not short-listed for interview for the post of a district chief executive, they still managed to go to Accra to be interviewed for the job. ”Members view this development as an attempt to derail democracy and that we insist that the choice of the district chief executive must be democratic and transparent so as to make him command the loyalty and support of the electorate.” The resolution said the development is causing tension in the area, a situation which it said, can be attributed to divisions within the Berekum district branch of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) since the presidential and parliamentary elections last year.
South African Police Team Calls On IGP Accra (GAR), June 24, – A three-member delegation from the South African Police Service today paid a courtesy call on the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Mr Peter Nanfuri, in Accra to discuss areas of co-operation, especially in training programmes. Mr Zolisa Lavisa, Deputy National Commissioner of South African Police, who led the delegation, said their visit is to build a relationship with their Ghanaian counterparts and also to strengthen crime fighting strategies in the two countries. “We are also here to learn from the training procedures used by the Ghana Police Administration to support our few exceptional skills in policing”, Mr Lavisa said. Mr Nanfuri, on his part, said they are looking forward to strengthening relationship with their South African counterparts especially in areas such as sports and training. Mr S.G. Aggor, Commander in charge of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID), said there has been an increase in crimes in Ghana. The country recorded 167,000 cases last year, out of which half represented cases of assault. There were serious crimes like robbery, homicide and drugs “but we have managed to control the situation,” he said. He called for assistance to train more police detectives to take care of criminal data collection and finger printing. Mr Aggor said between January 1996 and March 1997 the Interpol received 365 car theft cases in the sub-region and managed to recover 21 out of the number.
