Dr George Akuffo Dampare, Inspector General of Police (IGP), Tuesday said he is not withholding the promotions of officers due for promotion. He said the Ghana Police Service had promoted all officers who were due. Dr Dampare said during his appearance before Parliament's Committee probing an alleged leaked tape plotting his removal from office. 'There is no hold up of promotion of any junior officer in the whole police service. Even as we speak, the structure has been that any junior officer who is four years old is sent to training and they are promoted. And they are waiting to promote the next set of officers who are due for promotion. So, there is nobody in the service whose promotion is being held. So that is another set of concocted stories which is being put out there for mischievous reasons,' Dr Dampare said. 'So, everybody who is supposed to be promoted based on the junior rank has been done and everybody who is supposed to be promoted based on the senior rank have been promoted and that is where we are,' he said. Parliament's seven-member bi-partisan Committee chaired is by Mr Samuel Atta Akyea, a New Patriotic Party (NPP) Member of Parliament (MP) for Abuakwa South with Mr James Agalga, a National Democratic Congress (NDC) MP for Builsa North as the Vice-Chairman is investigating the veracity of the alleged leaked audio. On Tuesday, July 11, 2023, a leaked audio recording, allegedly involving a Police Commissioner and a politician discussing a plot to remove IGP Dampare from the office circulated. Consequently, the Minority Caucus in Parliament called for a probe into the leaked tape. Mr Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin, the Speaker of Parliament therefore constituted the seven-member bi-partisan Committee to authenticate the audio and probe into the secret recording of an alleged plot to remove Dr Dampare, IGP from office ahead of the 2024 general election on Tuesday, July 25, 2023. The Committee was, therefore, charged to report back to the House on September 10, 2023, but that had not been successful due to the ongoing investigation. The Committee is made up of three members each from the Majority and Minority sides of Parliament, and a technical person. Among the members are Mr Patrick Yaw Boamah, NPP MP for Okaikwei Central; Madam Ophelia Mensah, NPP MP for Mfantseman; Mr Eric Opoku, NDC MP for Asunafo South and Mr Peter Lanchene Tuobu, NDC MP for Wa West as members of the Committee. While Dr Isaac Lartey Annang, a lawyer and a human rights activist, is a technical person appointed by Mr Bagbin. Recently, some 82 aggrieved police officers have sued the Attorney General, the Ghana Police Service and the IGP for acting unfairly and capriciously concerning the failure of the Ghana Police Service to promote them. The police officers argued that they were due for promotions after the completion of their studies, through the study leave with pay policy, of the service, but they were yet to be promoted several months after the completion of their studies.

Source: Ghana News Agency