…As Commissioners request for extensions
By: Fred Yaw Sarpong- Daily Express
Checks at the Ghana Police Service, Headquarters indicates that senior officers who are due for retirement are rather seeking extensions, thereby freezing the promotion the junior ranks who are due for promotions.
The Daily Express can confirm that promotion has been delayed for several years especially from the ranks of the Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP), Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), Superintendent of Police (SOP), Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP), Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACOP), to the level of Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCOP).
Some of the officers especially those in the ranks of ASPs and DSPs have attended command courses and they are yet to be promoted. Some have spent six (6) years after training.
This has affected the promotions of Subordinate Police Officers such as Constables, Lance Corporals, Corporals, Sergeants, Inspectors and Chief Inspectors.
Currently, there are some Commissioners of Police (COPs) who are about to go on retirement this year, but these Commissioners have written to the government requesting for extension.
They are Commissioner of Police (COP) in charge of Services, Mr. Frank Adu Poku, COP Moses Ninson, the Director General in charge of Welfare and COP Rose Bio Atinga in charge of Technical. Commissioner of Police (COP) in charge of Services, Mr. Frank Adu Poku is to go on retirement by June 14, 2017.
Mr. Adu Poku is currently on compulsory leave working from home. Per the rules and regulations, three months to your retirement date, you must go on compulsory leave. The COP Moses Ninson is also expected to go on retirement by July this year while COP Rose Bio Atinga retirement is due November 15, this year.
It has been also confirmed that the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mr. David Asante Apeatu’s retirement is due by September, this year. However, the Daily Express can confirm that the IGP has not requested for extension yet.
While some security analysts believe that if the government extends the period of retirement of the IGP, then other Commissioners' requests have to be granted whereas others pointed out that it’s not necessary to follow that procedure.
Speaking to one of the Subordinate Police Officers (with name withheld), he indicated that “if they don’t move (no promotion), it makes the down (junior rank officers) to be chocked. We must also understand that it’s the promotion that moves the moral of the personnel. At the end of the day the salary is not that much, but if you promote me to my next rank without delaying me, at least I will also have some hope that one day I will also reach the top. But if the down is chocked and people are writing for extension and you are giving them, then the down will continue to be chocked.”
Some say because the Police Council has not been constituted yet that’s the reason the senior officers' promotions are delaying.
In his response, Superintendent Cephas Arthur, the Public Affairs Director of the Ghana Police Service (GPS) said the service has a training institution; Ghana Police and Staff College which is an institution at the higher learning in GPS.
“Police officers go there from time to time to upgrade their knowledge about Policing in general. There has been this erroneous impression that when you go to the college to upgrade yourself, you are due for promotion and when you come out you must get your promotion.”
‘It has been said again and again that that impression or perception is not true. I think there was some miscommunication from the beginning. But before you get your promotion you should have been at the training college. But it’s not a precursor to promotion. The college is an institution of higher learning that you must be there before and when it’s time for promotion you are given,” added.
“We don’t go there to acquire more knowledge to get immediate promotion after training. But people have misconstrued it to be that once you go for the training and graduated, you are given the promotion. That’s not so,” he pointed.
Per the Police regulation promotions in the service shall be by (a) promotion examination, (b) seniority and length of years served, subject to satisfactory performance, assessment of good conduct or (c) special recommendations based on meritorious act on bravery in the prevention of crime and outstanding performance of duty, without limiting the effect of sub-regulation two (2), which states that an officer may be considered for promotion in the service on the recommendations of Police Appointments and Promotion and Advisory Board or the senior officer under whom the officer serves.
It further states that the senior officer in making the recommendations under sub-regulation three (3) shall take into consideration of the following criteria- integrity and good conduct, efficiency, attitude towards work and sense of responsibility, experience and capacity for cooperation with other officers, initiative and creativity, ability to offer leadership, seniority and whether the officer have served the required number of years in the relevant post, which is the four year period.
It also states that the promotion is subject to the availability of vacancies, an officer who has completed not less than four years of satisfactory service is eligible for promotion in accordance with these regulations.
With regard to extension by some of the Commissioners, Superintendent Arthur said he is not aware of any extension. “I don’t grant extension. Even promotion of the senior Police Officers I’m not part of it. I don’t know whether any commissioner has asked for extension and I don’t manage their record to know their retirement period. So if they are pending retirement, I don’t know.”
He stated that every government worker is entitled to application for extension. “It’s the appointing officers to decide whether to grant the extension or not. If even someone is trying it, it will not be the first time anybody from the Ghana Police is going to apply for extension. If indeed anyone has applied, such person is entitled to do so. They have the right to apply and the appointing authority has the right to refused,” he added.
The Daily Express gathered that the promotions of the junior police officers (the subordinates) are done by the Inspector General of Police (IGP) while the ASPs and above are done by the Police Council. The Commissioner zone is done by the state with the advice of the Police Council.
He said Police Council was in place until the new government was sworn into office. Even the old council was in place for a while after this current government was sworn in
He said “it may be true that you have served the four years which is one of the requirements, but there is no vacancy for you to be moved to the other ranks. In principle an officer can be at a particular rank for seven years because there is no vacancy.”
He mentioned that the Police administration is trying to take a second look at the old structure to see if there is any way they can work things out and still promote more people, d work more and become efficient, as part of the service reforms.
Meanwhile, the Minister of Information, Mustapha Abdul-Hamid said government will soon announced the Police Council.
Dr Emmanuel Kwesi Aning, a security expert at the Kofi Annan International Peace Keeping Centre (KAIPTC) pointed out that it’s important the government announce the council in order to address some of the challenges facing the police service.
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