The president, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has presented 100 new vehicles donated by China to the Ghana Police Service to boost the logistical and mobility base of the Service.

He hopes that the vehicles – which include pick-ups, SUVs, Riot Control and Crime Scene Vans, Troop Carriers, Ambulances and Buses – will help the police to be more effective in their operations.

At a ceremony to present the vehicles, the President said: “We know how important a well-resourced and efficient Police Service is for the maintenance of peace and order in our nation.”

He touted his government’s effort at resourcing the Service by increasing its vehicular logistic base from just 458 serviceable vehicles when he took office in 2017 to 1,134.

The President reminded the leadership of the Service about the need for regular maintenance, saying that while it is a culture “we don’t well have in our country, it is as well that from now on we begin to develop a culture of maintenance of our assets.”

President Akufo-Addo also used the opportunity to reaffirm Ghana’s appreciation to China “for this relationship that has been built up and is being built up between the People’s Republic of China and the Republic of Ghana.

“China is proving to be a very strong and reliable friend of our nation…I value very much the warm relationship that I struck with His Excellency Xi Jinping, the President of the People’s Republic of China on this continuing demonstration of strong reliable friendship between his country and my own country,” he added.

The Chinese Ambassador to Ghana, Shi Ting Wang in his address, was confident that the 100 vehicles will go a long way to support the capacity building of the law enforcement agencies of Ghana.

He said although Ghana is one of the safest countries in Africa, some challenges in terms of security and some kind of crime still happen from time to time “but we feel safe here.”

“I believe that the vehicles will play an important role in fighting crime and will support the protection of Ghanaians and foreign investors,” he added.

Mr Wang thanked President Akufo-Addo, the police and the Interior Minister for their continuous support in protecting the Chinese community in Ghana.

He assured that “China’s support to Ghana is sincere and I hand the best of China to Ghana and we will work closely with the government of Ghana to ensure that our relationship will be uplifted to another level and to improve the friendship between Ghana and China.”

“The prospects for the cooperation between China and Ghana will surely be broadened,” he continued.