We salute you all!

The Ghanaian Times congratulates four top security service officers, the first two being Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mr James Oppong-Boanuh, and the Director General of the Ghana Prisons Service, Mr Patrick Darko-Missah.

Mr Oppong-Boanuh and Mr Darko-Missah are both beginning their terminal leave on August 1 and proceed on retirement in October, this year after dedicatedly working for 33 and 32 years respectively for their institutions.

We wish them well in their subsequent endeavours, having done their bits for the country.

Now our light is focused on the other two officers, and they are those President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has appointed to succeed the two on the way to retirement.

Commissioner of Police (COP) Dr George Akuffo Dampare has been named as the Acting IGP, whereas the Deputy Director-General of the Ghana Prisons Service (GPS), Mr Isaac Kofi Egyir, will assume the position of Acting Director-General of the GPS.  Both appointments take effect from Sunday, August 1.

A statement signed by the Director of Communications at the Presidency, Mr Eugene Arhin, says the new IGP and Director-General of Prisons would act in their respective roles until substantive heads are appointed in accordance with the dictates of the 1992 Constitution.

Dr Dampare, 51, upon assumption of office, becomes Ghana’s 30th IGP, the youngest acting IGP to be appointed in the Fourth Republic and the eighth youngest since Ghana gained independence.

He joined the service as a Constable in December 1990 at age 20.

In the case of Mr Egyir, he was born on August 21, 1964 and enlisted into the Ghana Prisons Service on December 5, 1995 as an Officer Cadet and commissioned as a Deputy Superintendent of Prisons on July 5, 1996.

Both men have enviable academic and professional attainments and rich experiences in their respective fields for which we can say they have what it takes to discharge their respective duties remarkably.

However, since they are mortal men who are confined to only one place at a time and limited in what they can think about and do, the Ghanaian Times wishes to remind them that they should take on board workable stakeholders’ views in their decision.

In the case of Dr Dampare, we expect him to take into account all manner of crimes in the country, some mind-boggling.

Murders (including ritual ones), robberies, cyber-crimes, violence and mob action, bribery and corruption, with some cases involving policemen and other public officials, and impersonation are a few we can mention now.

Road safety issues and police prosecutors delaying cases in court and other such matters should not escape his lenses either.

Mr Egyir needs to be even more alert and tough because his service handles criminals the police have already dealt with.

Some of these are people who have decided not to accept any lessons and training to reform their character and so constantly cause problems even while in prison.

We would like to add that while they have the best intentions to discharge their duties to the best of their abilities, they should constantly analyse their institution-specific problems and solve them in order to raise the morale of both other ranks and officers to support them to succeed.

Congratulations to outgoing and incoming IGPs and Directors-General of Ghana Prisons Service.