Mahama weighs in on bodyguards for MPs

Former President John Mahama says he is support of the Akufo-Addo led government’s plans to provide Members of Parliament (MPs) with police security guards.

The NDC’s flagbearer said this, speaking to the media after commiserating with the family of the murdered Mfantseman MP Ekow Quansah Hayford

Mahama said, it was necessary to provide security to legislators, as governments work towards creating a ‘safer’ Ghana.

 “It is unfortunate that in a time like this especially in a runup to an election that somebody like him, an MP who has filed his nomination for re-election should die in a way that he did. It is a call to us the leaders to make sure our people are safer, for somebody like him to die in an incident like this means that we need to wake up and make sure that we deal with the issues of armed robbery so that all our people are safe.

“I think that in a meantime we need to give some protection to our leaders like the MPs and provide them with some armed guards so that they are able to protect them while we work to make the country safer for all of us,” he added as quoted by ‘Primenewsgh’

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Government’s decision to assign security guards to MPs has however not augured with some critics.

 For instance, security Analyst, Col (rtd) Festus Aboagye said the decision to assign bodyguards to all MPs will affect the operations of the police service.

 “What the MPs have done amounts to an MP grievance… the areas of operations of the police let’s say patrolling and rapid response are going to suffer. Because the IGP will necessarily have to withdraw police officers from some of the operational elements, it may entail a reduction in the number of patrols, a reduction in the 24 hour patroling somehow police visibility operations will suffer.”