MPs to get police guards - Interior Minister announces in Parliament

The Ministry of Interior has agreed to provide all Members of Parliament (MP) with police bodyguards.

In the interim, the Minister of Interior, Mr Ambrose Dery said 200 police personnel have been detailed to provide personal security for 200 MPs although there are a total of 275 MPs.

This is because some MPs double as Ministers of State and already have police bodyguards.

The deployed officers will operate under the Parliamentary Protection Unit.

In addition to that, an arrangement is to be made for extra police security in the homes of MPs.

The sector Minister made this known on Tuesday, October 13, 2020.

“Due to the retooling of the security agencies by President Akufo-Addo, the country has more security agencies and security personnel available. So we have proposed that, between now and the end of the year, we are going to provide an additional 200 police personnel to be part of the parliamentary protection unit. We are making this arrangement to ensure that the unit attains the status of divisional police command to take care of the Members of Parliament as bodyguards.”

“Ideally to get to where we want to get to means that, subsequently, we should have 800 police added so that each MP will also have security at home in the day and night.”

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The new arrangement comes in the wake of the killing of the MP for Mfantseman in the Central Region, Mr Ekow Kwansah Hayford last Friday, October 9, 2020.

Mr Hayford was killed by suspected highway robbers at about 1 am Friday.

The Interior Minister was consequently summoned by the parliament to brief the House on security for MPs.