News:
January 5, 2012
The Member of Parliament for Adasi- Asokwa, Kofi Tahir (KT) Hammond has called on the Police Administration to as a matter of urgency restore the police emergency code (191) which has been out of use for some time.
He described the malfunctioning nature of the emergency line which is common to Ghanaians as a security lapse which requires immediate correction.
The issue came up when the FINDER Newspaper reported in its 5th January 2012 edition that a survey it conducted revealed that a lot of Ghanaians are ignorant of the emergency telephone lines of the security agencies such as the Police and Fire Service and emergency service organizations like the National Ambulance Service and the National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO).
The Director of Public Affairs of the Ghana Police Service, DSP Cephas Arthur while contributing on the issue on Adom FM’s Dwaso Nsem show on Thursday 5th Januray , disclosed that the police emergency number 191, which has been the main emergency number of the police and known to the general public, has not been in the best of shapes as the lines drops intermittently.
He was however quick to add that 18555 which is another police emergency number is very active and can be accessed by the public in emergency situations.
But Hon. KT Hammond who served as a Deputy Minister of Interior in the erstwhile NPP government who was tuned in to the programme called in and urged the Police Administration to swiftly rectify the situation, since the citizenry should have no difficulty getting through to the police in difficult times.
He added that the safety of the public to a large extent is not totally secured due to the faulty emergency line, as that is the quickest avenue for distress calls to be made to the police.
KT Hammond noted that all over the world police emergency lines are noted to be always active, adding that Ghana as a developing country cannot afford to lag behind in modern security measures.
Kwadwo Anim/ghanamps.gov.gh