Interior Minister worried over criminal activities in Ghana


The Minister for the Interior, Mark Woyongo, says criminal activities in the country continue to be a source of concern to us all. 

He said among these are armed robbery, including vehicle snatching and other violent crimes. 

Mr. Woyongo who is also the MP for Navrongo Central said government has therefore made it as one of its top priorities to tackle these security problems. 

He argued that a state that cannot regulate what passes across its borders will not be able to control what happens within it. 

He  underscored  the  need for Ghana  to  identify  the  challenges  and tackle  them to  ensure  effective  security  at  the borders especially when issues that threaten border security such as money laundering, human, drug  and weapon trafficking are on the increase. 

The MP who was speaking at the 2015 Nayagnia Development Association's homecoming ceremony themed "Empowering the youth through education" called on the people of Nayagnia to put a high premium on education stressing that their future is dependent on education. 

The MP said border security is entirely about border development where there is improvement in the issues and activities that enhance security at the borders. He appealed to the security services at entry points to be vigilant and prevent misguided elements from destabilizing the nation. 

He told them to be loyal and to be dedicated in the discharge of their duties so as to safeguard the security of the nation. 

He entreated his compatriots to establish an effective scholarship fund that will foot the bills of very brilliant students from poor homes. 

This he noted will produce the needed human resource for the community as well as encourage many more students to study harder and pass their exams successfully. The Interior Minister called on philanthropists and the affluent within the constituency to come on board with support in any form. 

The Accra-Tema Chairman of the Nayagnia Development Association, NDA, Prof Sylvester Achio said the association was an advocacy and development-oriented group composed of citizens of Nayagnia living in and outside of Nayagnia and with branches across the regions. 

He said the association identified development needs of the community and pulls resources from members as well as well-wishers to meet those needs. 

Prof Achio revealed that the NDA had over the years donated teaching and learning materials to schools in the community, procured computers for an ICT laboratory, hooked some settlements to the national electricity grid and also put up some school infrastructure. 

He was however, worried about a library project which started some time ago lacked resources to be completed.  

The Deputy Upper East Regional Minister, Daniel Syme noted that the region had recorded poor Basic Education Certificate Examination, BECE, results in recent years and commended the efforts of the NDA calling on other communities to form similar associations with peculiar focus on improving educational standards. 

He pledged the full support of the Regional Co-coordinating Council for groups like the NDA whose interventions complement government's development agenda. 

He spoke of the need for unity and team work and said that was the path to travel to bring development to the people.

GBC