The Inspector General of Police, Dr. George Akuffo-Dampare, claims that he is not the worst IGP Ghana has ever had.
When called to testify before the Parliamentary Committee looking into a leaked audio tape between top police officials, including COP Alex Mensah and Supt. George and Bugri Naabu, a former Northern Regional Chairman of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP), the IGP made this categorical declaration.
Dr. Dampare was responding to inquiries on, among other things, claims made by the police that he was responsible for the covert recording of them.
He denied allegations that the Police Service is ineffectively run under his direction.
The IGP emphasized that his appointment has since shown genuine concern to improve the Police force as he listed some interventions that he and his team have implemented to transform the Service, including streamlining the administration of their headquarters, improving the lives of the Police officers, and ensuring strong Police visibility across the nation to clamp down on criminals.
“We want those who come after us to be better than us because by the same yardstick, they are watching us in terms of what we are doing. Those that we are getting right and the challenges that we are facing so that they will be able to outperform us and when they do that, then, they will also become better than us and all our forebearers and when that happens, we will end up building strong institutions and not having strong men and this is what we are doing. So, it is not true that my administration is the worst. It can never be!”, he said.
He stressed that “we are on the quest of ensuring that, at the end of the day, we leave the organization better than we come to find it”.
“So, would anybody coming to say that you are the worst IGP is unfounded. It’s unfortunate and I think the best the person could have done if he had nothing to say is probably keep quiet and allow the people of this country to make a determination on us”, he pointed out his disappointment in his senior officers and the allegations leveled against him.
He added; “The final point on this matter is that it is not about Dr. Dampare. It’s about the Police administration…The Police is not a sole proprietorship; it is an institution with governance and management structures. Dampare is just one of the officers involved in the governance and the management structure.”
