The Tarkwa Divisional Police Command, in the Western Region, has failed to occupy the new police station and a six-bedroom accommodation even though the facility was commissioned three years ago.
The Tarkwa-Nsuaem Municipal Assembly on June 2, 2016, handed over the GH¢453,000 facility put up by the Assembly at Simpa, but it is not known why the Police Divisional Command had failed to occupy the state property after its handing-over.
Consequently, the Auditor-General (AG), Mr Daniel Yaw Domelevo, has directed the Police Command to take immediate steps to put the facility to use to ensure that value for money was obtained.
The directive by Mr Domelevo was contained in his 2018 Auditor-General’s Report submitted to Parliament in June this year. It was under the subheading: Newly constructed Police Station at Simpa not occupied.
Similarly, the Auditor–General directed the Police Administration to retrieve two AK 47 rifles issued to Robert Ackah with service no 47523 for escort and Atuasi Dawda also with service no 46981 for night patrol duties on May 26, 2017, and August 16, 2017, respectively, but the rifles had since not been returned.
It gave the rifles numbers as AK47-172194 and AK47-157480 saying there was also no available information as to the whereabouts of the rifles as they still stand in the names of the officers which must be recovered without delay.
In a related development, at the Jukwa Police Station, the AG in the report stated: “We noted that, out of 84 AK47 cartridges allocated to the station vide letter number Juk.11/VOL.1/12 of May 27, 2009, only 30 were accounted for leaving 54 outstanding.
''In our view, should the rifles and cartridges fall into wrong hands, they could be used to engage in social vices''.
Adding, we recommended that management should investigate the issues and initiate steps to retrieve the rifles and cartridges''.
According to the Auditor-General, as per the Service Instruction 124 (1-3) of the Ghana Police Service that states that, where any member of the Service learns of a damage to or loss of any equipment or material on charge to or issue for the use of the Service, he shall report the same to the nearest police station at once.