Tiwaa Eyes IGP Job! …Says She Is Capable
The Director -General of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service, COP Maame Yaa Tiwaa Addo-Danquah, says she is ready for the Inspector General of Police (IGP) job.
She stated that although it is the President’s decision in consultation with the Council of State to appoint an IGP, she believes she is qualified for the position.
Ghana’s 28th IGP David Asante Apeatu ends his extended service August 14, 2019, after his tenure was extended by a year in August 2018
Even before he retires, several names have popped up for his replacement.
Next IGP
So far names of nine others, all whom are Commissioners of Police (COP), and thus suitable for the job, have popped up in the media.
They are COP Kofi Boakye, Director-General of the Police Professional Standards Bureau; COP Dr. George Akuffo Dampare, Director-General in charge of Welfare; COP Maxwell Sakipasgo Atingane, Commandant Staff and Command College-Winneba and COP Prosper Agblor, Director-General, Legal and Prosecution.
The others are COP Beatrice Zakpaa Vib-Sanziri, Director- General of the Police Intelligence and Professional Standards Bureau; COP Christian Tetteh Yohuno, Director-General at Motor Transport Traffic Department; COP Akuribah Yaagy, Director-General National Patrol; COP David Ampah-Bennin, Director-General for Special Duties and COP Ken Yeboah, Director-General in charge of Administration.
Tiwaa Ready
But in an interaction on Atinka TV’s Big Stories on Saturday COP Tiwaa Addo-Danquah stated that, “I am more than prepared to be the IGP of Ghana.”
“For the fact that I have been a police from Constable, Recruit, to Sergeant, Inspectorate, ASP through to where I have gotten to as a COP, it means that I can go further,” she emphasized.
The IGP candidate further added: “
If God says I should be the IGP today, that work is not done by one person, it is a team work and if I have been the Director-General CID, before which I was a deputy, it means I have done a lot of work, therefore if I am asked to go further, it means that it is the will of God.”
The senior police officer’s optimism for the job comes at a time when some schools of thought have argued that the country was no ready for a female IGP.
A former Police CID boss, Bright Oduro, is quoted as having claimed that DCOP Maame Tiwaa stands the risk of being undermined because she is among the junior-most of the Commissioners.
He said the senior Commissioners may not give her the needed cooperation, insisting that the position of IGP comes with a lot of stress and he doubts if a woman can withstand the stress.
However the senior police woman, who has come under harsh public criticism over her recent comments on the Takoradi missing girls’ saga, simply laughed off suggestions that she is not fit for the job.
She indicated on the show that both men and women had the same training and wrote the same examination irrespective of their sex and therefore if a man is capable of occupying the IGP position, then a woman can also be an IGP.
“Of all the rumours and critics, the one that I heard that sounded ridiculous was when people said Ghana is not ready to have a female IGP. I laughed when I heard it because when we went to school we all wrote the same examination, and we all had the same training without gender discrimination, so why do people think a man is ready to do it but a woman is not?” she quizzed.
COP Tiwaa Addo-Danquah further cited examples where Ghanaian women occupied bigger positions and executed their work diligently, to prove that women are capable of doing what men can do.
“We were in this country where a woman became the Chief Justice and she executed her work very well such that after her, a woman succeeded that position. We even had a female Speaker and we have female ministers and so if people say we are not ready to have a female IGP, I wonder when we will be ready,” she intimated.
I Can
COP Tiwaa Addo-Danquah also stated that,” If the President is convinced that a woman is competent and capable of occupying the position like a man will do, or even do more, then I do not see why someone will say a woman cannot occupy that position.”
However, she explained that to be an IGP, one must be able to manage their human resource well.
“It is not only about you as a leader. As a leader if you manage and value your human resource well, you will be able to work irrespective of your gender. It is about competence and not sex or gender,” she added.
“The President will not just get up that he is appointing someone, he assesses a lot of things before appointing.
And so If he believes I qualify for the position, I do not see why I should say he should look for someone else, after all what qualities does that person have that I do not have. It is about one’s ability to do it and do it very well, and not about gender,” she added.
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