The Ghana Pentecostal and Charismatic Council (GPCC) wishes all Ghanaians a blessed and prosperous 2020 and thanking the Lord Almighty for a peaceful and crime-free Christmas and New Year celebrations.
We wish to particularly commend the security agencies, especially the Ghana Police Service for an excellent “Operation Father Christmas” that proved effective and successful resulting in an almost crime-free Yuletide.
The visible presence of the Police on our streets, communities, churches, markets places and other strategic locations within our major cities and towns during the period, especially at our Watch night services was enough deterrent to criminal groups contemplating any criminal activities. The high level of commitment and professionalism exhibited especially by the night Patrol Teams and the MTTD Personnel on the major highways must be highly commended.
While many Ghanaians are often quick to criticise the Police for the misbehaviour and unprofessional conduct of a few miscreants within the Service, the Council, just like many well-wishing Ghanaians on this occasion would wish to congratulate them for an operation well executed in spite of the numerous operational and motivational challenges still confronting the service and its personnel. We urge the Inspector General of Police to let this “Operation Father Christmas” become an everyday operational strategy to rid Ghana of criminal elements seeking to disturb the relative peace we currently enjoy as a country.
To this end, the Council calls on the government through The Ministry of Interior to fast-track its retooling agenda for the Police Service, especially its numerical strength to reassure Ghanaians of a well-equipped Police Service ready to confront the changing complexities of security management in a modern state and other security challenges that may emerge before, during and after the 2020 Presidential and Parliamentary Elections.
As earlier communicated in our Christmas and End of Year Message to Ghanaians in December 2019, the Councils wishes to reiterate its call on the Security Forces, especially the Ghana Police Service to rise to the occasion once again by ensuring a strict enforcement of the law and dealing with all forms of political violence and criminality impartially so as to nip in the bud all forms of impunity in the name of politics ahead of the 2020 elections.
On behalf of all National Executive Council Members and Heads of Member Churches, I wish all Ghanaians a very blessed and prosperous new year.
Issued By:
Rev. Prof. Paul Frimpong-Manso
(President)