Three hundred Ghanaian peacekeepers serving under the United Nations Operations in Cote d’Ivoire (UNOCI) are being redeployed to South Sudan. The GHANBAT 19 team, currently in Cote d’Ivoire, becomes the first-ever team of Ghanaian peacekeepers to be redeployed from one mission in a country to another. The contingent has already served close to six months in Cote d’Ivoire, contributing to the restoration of peace, security and stability in that country, according to the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF). The redeployment followed the outstanding professionalism and commitment of the team in Cote d’Ivoire, it stated. As part of preparations for their departure to South Sudan in early February, a high-powered delegation of the GAF paid a visit to the peacekeepers at their base at Bondoukou in Cote d’Ivoire on January 30. The entourage, led by the Chief of Army Staff of the GAF, Major General Richard Opoku-Adusei, was there to psyche up the personnel for their next mission, as well as to gain insight into the challenges facing the contingent. Other officials were the Director-General for International Peace Support Operations, Brigadier General Asamoah Yeboah; Director of Army Peacekeeping Operations, Colonel Nick Kporku, and Sergeant Major of the Army, Master Warrant Officer (MWO) Emmanuel Neequaye. They were met at the Felix Houphouet-Boigny International Airport by the outgoing Defence Attaché in Cote d’Ivoire, Commodore Kwadwo Osei Sarfo, and his predecessor, Commodore Isaac Osei Kuffour, who flew with them to Bondoukou.   Troops making a difference   Major General Opoku-Adusei stated that since Ghana started contributing to peacekeeping operations globally, none of the country’s battalion had ever performed “abysmally”. “This envious record has attracted the eyes of the international community to praise Ghana for its performance towards peace, security and stability in conflict-prone regions,” he said.  He told the soldiers that it was the first time a UN peacekeeping mission had been selected and transferred from one country to another. “You, as special forces, have been selected to continue your outstanding mission in South Sudan and this has never occurred before. “The UN has recognised your role in helping to mitigate the suffering of Ivorians and instead of letting you go home, it wants you to go and make a similar difference in South Sudan,” the Major General added.   Think positive  Major General Adusei-Opoku, who spent a lot of time interacting with the troops, reminded them of how the people of Cote d’Ivoire cherished their presence. He was highly optimistic that they would be appreciated by the people of the newest country in the world, where rebels and the government had signed a peace accord to halt violence. Nonetheless, he advised them not to relax in their efforts, as going to a new environment could expose them to hostilities, “hence the need to apply the principles you have learnt”. “It is a matter of standing firm and applying the principles you have been taught in the military, since this is what makes the military different,” he added    Logistical support The Chief of Army Staff told the contingent that the GAF headquarters was making efforts to acquire new equipment that the contingent would need to make the South Sudan operation a success. He said the government had already provided 15 armoured vehicles, 12 Toyota Land Cruisers, 20 tents, 10 air conditioners, 300 camouflaged uniforms, several cartons of medicines and communication gadgets for the mission.  Major General Adusei-Opoku appealed to the peacekeepers to take good care of the logistics.   Adhere to discipline  For his part, MWO Neequaye reminded the troops that discipline had always been the backbone of the army and advised them to always adhere to the rules and regulations of the military. The Commanding Officer of the Ghana Battalion in Cote d’Ivoire, Lieutenant Colonel Lloyd Atror, thanked the government and the hierarchy of the Ghana Army for their support for the mission. He, however, called for more support as they moved to South Sudan.  

The  Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA) has awarded  a US$400,000 consulting service contract  to Messrs  Louis  Berger SAS, a French company,  to study  and design an alternate four-lane  dual carriageways to link the Tema Port  to the motorway. The consulting services, which are scheduled to begin in February, 2014, with a report expected to be submitted  in July, 2014,  will be done in association with Transtech  Consult  Ghana Limited.    It is expected that  dedicated  and highly  efficient  roads and railways  would  be developed  under the  programme  to facilitate  the movement of cargo   and people  through  the Tema Port  cluster. Briefing the media on the  project, the acting Director General of the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA),  Captain James Owusu Koranteng,  observed that  access to the port had become  very critical to its  efficient operation.    He said the only two access  roads  to the Tema Port  through  the motorway  and the Tema General  Hospital had become  too inadequate  to cope with the traffic  volumes,  hence the need for the  expansion projects  on the road network. Captain Koranteng  noted that the  Louis Berger SAS,  in joint consortium with  Transtech Consult Ghana,  would design an alternate four dual carriageways to link the  Tema Port and the motorway. He said  it was the objective of the authority to have the project undertaken with the  total expansion of the  Tema Port  for easy and efficient connectivity. He said the project, which would include rail network, would have flyovers  over the rail crossing at Sakumono and an interchange at the meeting point of the road linking Nungua and Ashaiman  on the motorway.   Bids on expansion  According to  Captain Koranteng, the  GPHA received  seven valid bids on Monday, January 27,  2014  for the  proposed expansion  of  Tema Port. He recounted that the  GPHA International  Competitive  Tender  began in  March 2013 with calls for  Expression of Interest (EoI),  to which 53  internationally  recognised bodies and joint venture organisations  expressed interest to tender  for the expansion works. Captain Koranteng  disclosed that after the evaluation of the Expression of Interest, the  GPHA  prequalified  21 bidders,  including two Ghanaian companies  to proceed to the next stage.   He said  when  bidding  opened on Monday, only seven out of the number  were received,  with bid values  from US$489 million  to over  US$2 billion,  depending on  the phasing  arrangement selected by the bidder.   Phases of expansion Captain Koranteng explained that  the project had five phases, with the phase one requiring the provision of  main basic  port infrastructure, including the development of five new berths for containers, a multi-purpose  berth dedicated  to passenger and cruise  vessels. He said phases  two, three and  four  would  add up more  container terminals  and food/fruit  terminals  to the cluster,  while phase  five  would target  the oil rig  market along the   West African coast.  Captain Koranteng disclosed that the first phase was expected to be completed in a period of  two-and-a-half years.    

The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) is to support the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture Development (MoFAD) to address the issues of illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing along the shores of the country. Labelled the “Technical Co-operation Programme (TCP),” the support would assist the MoFAD to review and amend its domestic legislation, develop a national plan of action against IUU and a scheme of sanctions which draws on the FAO’s Port State Measures Agreement. An agreement to give effect to this was signed between the MoFAD and the FAO last Thursday in Accra. The sector Minister, Mr Nayon Bilijo, signed on behalf of the MoFAD, while Dr Lamourdia Thiombiano, the FAO representative to Ghana, initialled for the UN agency.   Benefits of the TCP Facility  Mr Bilijo said “The assistance from the FAO would strengthen Ghana’s capacity to manage and reduce illegal fishing and increase the value and profitability generated by fish resources and their contribution to the national economy.”  In March 2013, Ghana was confronted with issues relating to IUU fishing which eventually led to some EU countries placing trade blockades on tuna exports from the country. At the peak of the tuna crisis last year, about 6,000 jobs in industrial fish processing were threatened. “ It is, therefore, important that the fisheries resources are managed prudently to satisfy domestic, regional and international obligations,” Mr Bilijo said. He said the Ghana Fisheries Commission, which was mandated to manage and regulate the unitisation of the fisheries resources, had challenges in many fronts, hence the need to seek assistance from the FAO.   FAO response Dr Thiombiano said the MoU signified the need to address a major threat to local, national and sub-regional economies and marine ecosystem, particularly, in Ghana. He said minimising the occurrence of IUU fishing in Ghana’s waters was of paramount importance in the effort to manage and sustain fisheries resources for future generations. “It will send welcoming signals to local and international partners, as well as open the window for employment generation and international trade,” Mr Thiombiano added.

Vice-President Kwesi Amissah-Arthur has described the economic prospects of the country for this year as very positive. He said the nation was compelled to take some ‘hard’ but necessary economic decisions last year, which were expected to yield dividends in the medium term this year. Speaking to some members of the Ghanaian community in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, yesterday, Mr Amissah-Arthur mentioned some of the tough measures taken as tax increments and upward adjustments of petroleum prices. Admitting that the impact of the measures on the people could be biting, the Vice-President nonetheless remarked that they held positive promises for the medium term this year. Mr Amissah-Arthur, who  represented President John Dramani Mahama at the 22nd Ordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the African Union, therefore, predicted an appreciable growth rate this year. “We have tried to create a balance to ensure that government finances are stable, and also introduced other tax systems to allow for the growth of the economy,” Mr Amissah-Arthur explained, citing the removal of fuel subsidies and the introduction of the Automatic Tariff Adjustment Formula as examples.   2012 electoral petition The Vice-President said the 2012 presidential election petition was a contributory factor to the difficulties that confronted the country last year. In the situation, he said the government was compelled to take some difficult measures to restore normalcy to the economy.   Inflation Explaining why the inflation target was not achieved, Mr Kwesi Amissah-Arthur said there was first the need to fix the fiscal challenge, which in a way destabilised the economy. He said while the import bill rose from $8 billion to about $14 billion, cocoa and gold earnings slumped. Mr Amissah-Arthur added that while the 2013 growth rate was below expectation, it far exceeded those of many African countries, and this was a plus for the nation.   Ghanaians in diaspora The Vice-President said the government was coming up with some measures to enable citizens living outside the country to support national development. For instance, he said, there were plans to establish a skills bank that would enable Ghanaian professionals outside the country to use their skills to propel national development. To demonstrate its resolve towards realising this vision, Mr Amissah-Arthur said consultations were ongoing with Ghanaian technocrats and scholars in Washington and Addis Ababa to help review government’s project and development initiatives during their leisure times.

The Institute of Education at the University of Cape Coast may have to start looking for examiners to mark the end-of-semester examination of students of the colleges of education. This follows the decision of the Colleges of Education Teachers Association of Ghana (CETAG) neither to invigilate the exam nor mark the scripts. The CETAG has officially written to the director of the Institute of Education and copied the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cape Coast, explaining the decision of members to distance themselves from the examination.   End of semester exam The Institute of Education is the external examiner of the colleges of education in the country. All the 38 colleges of education in the country, last Monday, began their end of semester examination which would be ending on Friday, February 7, 2014. Normally, it is members of the CETAG who invigilate the examination and mark the scripts for the examining body (the Institute of Education) for it to award the class and certificate. In an interview, the National President of the CETAG, Mr Joseph Nkyi Asamoah, confirmed the decision of members to distance themselves from the examination “because we think the examination has been compromised.”   CETAG’s strike Giving a background to the standoff, Mr Asamoah said the CETAG, on January 20, 2014, declared a sit-down strike to protest poor conditions of service. He said, however, that on January 20, 2014, the National Labour Commission (NLC) directed the members of the CETAG to call off the strike. “We reminded the commission that we did not have the mandate to call off the strike that day because we had to call a council meeting, which was made up of representatives of all the 38 colleges of education in the country. “We did call the meeting, and on Tuesday, February 28, 2014, we met. After deliberations, we called off the strike immediately,” he told the Daily Graphic.   Invigilators Mr Asamoah said  while they were making efforts to end the strike, the principals of all the colleges of education decided that the end of semester examination should go on as scheduled with or without members of the CETAG. “The principals, working with the Institution of Education, decided to look for invigilators within and outside the colleges to invigilate the examination. “While at some places, teachers in junior high and senior high schools have been engaged to invigilate, others have resorted to the use of kitchen staff, security officers and labourers of the schools in supervision of the ongoing examination,” Mr Asamoah alleged. He described the action of the principals as a betrayal, adding that since they (CETAG members) were not involved in the invigilation, they had decided that they would not also mark the scripts.

  The Nkawkaw District Police Command has arrested two galamsey operators whose activities have polluted the River Nwin, which serves the people of the Bramkrom community, near Nkawkaw in the Birim North District. The police have also seized their equipment, including the ‘chanfan’, a piece of equipment they use to dig sand from the riverbed to mine gold from the river. Speaking to the Ghana News Agency (GNA) at Bramkrom, the Odikro (chief) of the community, Nana Kwabena Chartey-Bram, said during the dry season, water became very scarce in the area. The situation is even more precarious as nurses at the Community Health Planning Services (CHPS) Centre face serious challenges getting water for their work, especially during deliveries.  Nana Chartey-Bram disclosed that on December 29, last year, when he heard of the illegal mining on the river, their only source water, he reported the matter to the police. He, however, said ‘it seems the police are reluctant to prosecute the case; as the last time I visited the police, the crime investigator told me to withdraw the case and settle it amicably with the illegal miners’.   When the GNA contacted the District Commander, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Seth Yirenkyi, he said he was not aware his crime investigator had made that suggestion, and that his outfit was still pursuing the case. He said he rather expected the complainant to report back to him about his displeasure about the investigator and not to go to the media. DSP Yirenkyi said they arrested two suspected illegal miners, as the others bolted at the sight of the police. According to him, the two suspects had since been granted police enquiry bail, pending further investigations.  Nana Chartey-Bram said the community was heavily starved of water and that the little water from the only borehole flowed late in the night, ‘sometimes a bucket full’, which is shared amongst households, especially to those in dire need. According to him, the River Nwin, which serves as the alternative water source, had now been polluted by ‘galamsey’ miners so they were unable to use it.   

  A privately-owned commercial radio station at Dzodze in the Volta Region, Fafaa 100.3 FM,  in collaboration with the Ministry of Health, Ketu North Assembly and Keta New Look Optical Services, has organised a  free medical screening exercise for people from various communities. Over 1000 people from Aflao, Ho, Keta, Daballa, Sogakope, Agbozume-Akatsi and border communities in neighbouring Togo were screened for free. They were screened for breast cancer, malaria, cholera, typhoid fever, diarrhoea, tuberculosis, eye infections, weight-related diseases and blood pressure, among others. Participants were able to know their health status and were also educated on measures to be taken to minimise the effect of their diseases, thereby reducing pressure on hospitals within their communities.  Several medical practitioners were on hand with their medical equipment and actively participated in the exercise dubbed; ‘‘Your Health Is Your Wealth’’. The District Diseases Control Officer for Ketu North, Mr Christian Goxoxo, called for regular health screening within the district, at least twice a year, in order to forestall possible health hazards and enable the people to live healthy lives. The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Fafaa 100.3 FM, Mr Emmanuel Ketaman Evortepe, reiterated the station commitment to its mission statement — to deliver information for intervention, with special focus on touching lives each second of its transmission. He said the focus of the station had been on religion, family, governance, education, media, arts and business, with its comprehensive content placing it on the pinnacle as a station with a difference. Mr Ketaman commended the  St Anthony’s Hospital, Dzodze, Keta New Look Optical Services, business associates of Fafaa 100.3 Fm and various churches within the community who played key roles in kind and in cash to make the programme a success. The CEO also called on other media organisations to get involved in key community projects, as the media must spearhead developmental projects in the society, instead of giving room for petty and anti-progress politicking.   

  The Central Regional Development Commission (CEDECOM) has secured GH¢1.2 million Japanese loan to boost the production of organic pineapple in the Ekumfi and Mfantseman districts. The Sugarloaf Pineapple Project, which would also be sponsored by the Government of Ghana, would provide GH¢4,426 each to 220 farmers to cultivate one acre land each for two years. The project aims at expanding and improving organic sugar-loaf pineapple cultivation to reduce poverty in the beneficiary districts. According to Mr William Adofo, the Head of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Rural Development of CEDECOM, the loan has come at the right time considering the fact that there is a booming market for the organic sugar-loaf worldwide due to rising health consciousness. He said the 220 beneficiary farmers were selected from 10 communities in the districts, including Ekumfi Abortsin, Abor, Nanabin, Atwaa, Ekotsi, Essuehyia, Fowamanye, Mankessim, Otuam and Techiman. Mr Adofo made this known during a day’s inception workshop to solicit ideas from all stakeholders involved for an effective implementation and management of the sugarloaf project. It was on the theme: “Stimulating high economic growth through pineapple production” in Cape Coast in the Central Region. He said one of the key priorities of the project was to involve females in the production of pineapples, adding that most of the pineapple farms were owned by the men while the women were mostly engaged to work on the farms. He added that the project was also to increase farmers’ income and improve their standard of living. He further stated that the sugar-loaf project would also reduce drastically the huge post-harvest losses in the Ekumfi District where pineapples were produced abundantly but went waste due to unavailability of ready markets. Mr Adofo entreated the beneficiary farmers to fully utilise the opportunity in order to ensure the full realisation of the project. The Central Regional Director of Agriculture, Gershon Wodzrah, who chaired the ceremony, stated that the sugar-loaf project was one of the key projects of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture in the region. He said the project would help farmers to compete with their counterparts on the global market. Mr Wodzrah admonished the beneficiaries to be committed to the cause of the project, adding that misappropriation of funds for such projects by farmers discouraged the donor partners.    

Students of the University of Ghana yesterday petitioned Parliament against the introduction of tolls on the university roads. It, therefore, called on Parliament to immediately intervene in the matter and also call the university authorities to order. The university authorities have announced plans to introduce tolls on the university roads effective February 1, 2014. In a petition presented to Parliament by the President of the Students’ Representative Council of the university, Mr Eric Edem Agbena, the students described the action by the authorities as unfair. It wondered why lecturers of the university and their dependents were exempted from the toll charges, while students were expected to pay. In an interview with the Daily Graphic after presenting the petition, Mr Agbena described the action of the university authorities as a deliberate attempt to extort money from students. He said the students were outraged at the fact that the school authorities never considered their plight before imposing the tolls. “How do the authorities expect us to pay the high charges they’ve imposed on us?” the SRC President asked. Although the students would co-operate with the authorities in all their activities, Mr Agbena said the students were not prepared to support the university authorities to impose the tolls.   Work on campus When the Daily Graphic visited the University of Ghana yesterday, it was observed that work on the two major toll booths that had generated a lot controversies had seized temporarily. However, work on the projects could be said to be 60 per cent complete. Efforts to speak to the university authorities proved futile. 

Eight final-year junior high school students of TED Academy at Banana Inn in Accra are likely to miss this year’s Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) due to their inability to pay GH¢300 each as registration fee charged by their school. As a result of  their inability to pay the amount, the school authorities prevented them from writing a mock examination. The guardians of the affected students told the Daily Graphic that the director of the school, Mr George Tedeku, had told them at a parent-teacher association (PTA) meeting that they were required to pay GH¢300 each to register their children for the examination.   PTA meeting The guardians,  who wanted to remain anonymous, said parents who attended the PTA meeting (held for final-year students) complained bitterly about the exorbitant registration fees charged by the school. At the meeting, the director of the school told them the fees constituted the transportation and feeding cost for all the 28 BECE candidates.  They said they challenged the director of the about school registration fee but he refused to back down on the payment. “We conducted an investigation to ascertain the appropriate registration charge for a BECE candidate and we were told by the Ghana Education Service that it was GH¢15 per candidate,” one parent said.   The director  When the Daily Graphic contacted Mr Tedeku, he admitted charging each final-year student GH¢300 for the BECE registration. He explained that the amount constituted various expenses including the cost of transporting the candidates from the school to the examination centre. Mr Tedeku said the amount also covered the cost of a graduation ceremony,  a party for the pupils offer the examination and the feeding of the candidates during the final examination. He also admitted that students who had not paid the full amount or made part payment were not allowed to take part in the mock examination which commenced on Monday, January 27. According to Mr Tedeku, eight students out of the 28 registered candidates had paid the registration fee in full but he could not confirm the number of students who had made part payment. When asked if he was aware of the GH¢15 fee charged by the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) as the appropriate registration fee, he admitted to that knowledge and explained further that since all the candidates had paid the registration fee of GH¢15, they would all write the examination. “However,  students who do not pay the full GH¢300 would not enjoy the other privileges such as the feeding, transportation, graduation and the after party,” he added.   Response from guardians The guardians, in their response, rejected the claims of the director. They argued that the claims of privileges from the director were not true because he allegedly deceived parents who paid almost the same amount last year, yet their children were not given any such privileges.   Response from GES The Public Affairs Director of the Ghana Education Service (GES),  Mr Parker-Allotey,  told the Daily Graphic that the GES was monitoring the various basic schools to establish the schools charging unapproved fees. He confirmed the approved registration fee for BECE candidates as GH¢15 and further stated that the GES would sanction any institution found culpable of charging unapproved fees.  

The Ghana Haulage Transport Owners Association (GHTOA) has asked all haulage trucks to cease operations until further notice in protest against the implementation of the new Road Traffic Regulations (LI 2180). The directive, which takes effect from today, Saturday, February 1, 2014, will affect all ports in the country including the Kotoka International Airport (KIA). A statement issued by the National Chairman of the association, Alhaji Amuda Maduga, said “all trucks are to stay put in protest until something is done to support our concern.” The strike is in protest against the refusal of the Ghana Highway Authority (GHA) to increase the allowed tonnage for six-axle haulage trucks to 68 tonnes to conform to that of the country’s neighbouring countries. That, it said, was in spite of the association’s numerous pleas to the government to increase the tonnage to 68 in conformity with the West African Economic and Monetary Union (also known by its French acronym, UEMOA)  to no avail. Under the new LI, the allowed axle load for six-axle truck is 60 tonnes and was supposed to come into effect on January 1, this year. However, to avoid any confrontation and misunderstanding between the law enforcement agencies and the haulage trucks transporters, the GHA embarked on a nationwide education to sensitise stakeholders on the new LI. It said the new law required the drivers to reduce the weight of the cargo which would eventually affect their businesses. The association has, thus, called on the Ministry of Roads and Highways to reconsider some provisions in the regulations, saying that Ghana could not afford to lose out on the Sahelian-bound cargos, for which the country had spent huge sums of money to convince importers and exporters to route their cargo through the Tema and Takoradi ports.  

The woman who allegedly set her husband’s house ablaze, resulting in his death and that of two others, was yesterday arraigned before the Adjabeng District Court, charged with murder. Distraught-looking Efua Badu, 33, was remanded in prison custody to reappear on February 17, 2014. She was remanded by the court, presided over by Mr Isaac Addo, after the prosecution had prayed the court to remand her.  Her plea was not taken but she has nonetheless confessed to committing the offence. The prosecution informed the court that investigations have been completed and for that reason, the docket on her case would be forwarded to the Attorney-General’s office for advice. Members of the deceased’s family were in court to observe proceedings but Efua’s family members were absent.   Background Efua’s action resulted in the death of Peter Amos Asobayire, 35; his wife, Felicity Asobayire, 25, and their two-and-a-half-year-old daughter, Sarah Asobayire, who were burnt beyond recognition. Efua, popularly known as Saman Kwenim, allegedly set fire to a can of kerosene and threw it through the window of the uncompleted abode of the family at Dome CFC at about 2 a.m. on Monday. Two other occupants of the building, Tanko Asobayire, 28, and Michael Amanguri, 25, however, escaped unhurt as they were said to be sleeping in another room in the building.   Genesis Badu, a local restaurant (‘Chop bar’) operator, was said to have been married to Asobayire for seven years, during which period they had two children — a six-year-old boy and a two-year-old girl. According to the prosecution, the Asobayire lived at Adome- Tantra Hill before his death, whilst the accused lived at Spintex Road at Flower Pot. He added that all efforts by Asobayire to move Badu to live with him in his two-bedroom house at Tantra Hill had proved futile, and this caused a lot of misunderstanding between the couple. This development, he said, compelled Asobayire to go in for a second wife, Felicity Asobayire, who had a two- and-a-half-year-old child, Sarah Asobayire.He said Peter Asobayire arrived with his new wife, Felicity, and the daughter, Sarah, from Navrongo the very night and met their untimely death. Furthermore, he said Peter Asobayire broke the news to Badu that he had to go in for a second wife. He indicated that the accused person, who could not cope with the shocking revelation, moved from Spintex Road to Tantra Hill at midnight, set the two bedroom on fire and had the three persons burnt to death. A report, he said, was made to the police and upon intelligence, the accused was arrested. The prosecution indicated that a caution statement was taken from the accused and she admitted setting the house on fire.   Writer’s email: [email protected]

Two policemen who used an official vehicle to commit robbery were yesterday remanded in custody by the Accra Circuit Court. General Lance Corporal Robert Fenning Amponsah and General Lance Corporal Isaac Nimako Yeboah allegedly committed the offence with two others who are currently on the run. They have each pleaded not guilty to four counts of conspiracy and four counts of robbery and were remanded by the court, presided over by Mr Francis Obiri, to reappear on February 12, 2014. The two were alleged to have acted together with General Lance Corporal Andrew Adu-Poku and one Bright, both on the run, to rob their victims in some parts of Accra between October 2013 and January 2014.   Facts The three policemen are stationed at Communication National Protection and Formed Police Units, while Bright, according to the prosecution, is a “supposed informant”.  According to the prosecution, the police administration had been receiving complaints of some police officers perpetuating robbery against members of the public. The report also indicated that the robbers used a marked police Nissan Patrol vehicle in the commission of the crime.  Based on intelligence report, Amponsah, who was the driver in charge of service vehicle with registration number GP 3517, was arrested for investigation.   Caution statement of Amponsah Amponsah in his caution statement admitted to the offence and mentioned Yeboah and Adu-Poku as his accomplices.  His confession resulted in the arrest of Yeboah. According to the prosecution, Yeboah stated in his caution statement that he, together with Amponsah and Adu-Poku, robbed their victims of GH¢3,500 in the month of October and November, 2013.  Yeboah has, however, denied being part of the team that robbed victims last month January, 11 and 18, 2014.  In the course of investigations, it was revealed that the accused persons conspired to commit robbery by playing various roles. Per their alleged roles, Amponsah was expected to use the service vehicle with registration number GP 3517 meant to convey his commander to work as the vehicle the group would use whenever they were to embark on a robbery operation. Yeboah, for his part, used service weapons assigned to him for official duties to join his accomplices whenever they embarked on illegal operations.  According to the prosecution,  Adu-Poku was responsible for the procurement of number plates for the robbery while Bright provided information on potential victims.  A different number plate for the operation was provided by Adu-Poku. The fake number plate was usually embossed on the original fixed number plate before they embarked on each robbery expedition.   Findings It was established during investigations that the accused persons, on various days of robberies, went to the banks where their victims went to withdraw money sent to them by their relatives and friends.  After the victims had come out of the bank to board a taxi home, the accused persons trailed them and crossed them with the police vehicle and arrested them. They allegedly told the victims that they (victims) were “fraud boys”.  The prosecution said the accused persons allegedly beat up and threatened to lock up their victims in police cells if the victims refused to part with their monies. Victims who refused to comply with the orders of the accused persons to part with their monies had their moneys forcibly taken away. They then dropped off their victims at any location and sped off. Writer’s email: [email protected].