Police personnel at the Akosombo Divisional Police Command in the Eastern Region are appealing to the government to save the barracks from the devastation caused by erosion.
The police housing unit which also houses the district police station is at risk following unstoppable erosion ripping into the foundations of the buildings.
Many of the quarters are in the low-lying area close to a nearby mountain, leaving the occupants in an uncomfortable situation.
The sloppy nature of the area makes the barracks highly prone to erosion. The inner roads of the barracks are in a deplorable state as running water cuts through the area without proper drainages anytime it rains, leaving the foundation of the buildings almost hanging mid-air.
A visit by GhanaWeb to the barracks revealed that the buildings are hanging on visibly exposed foundations.
To save the buildings from collapsing, the Divisional Police Commander has initiated steps to renovate the barracks and keep the buildings in good shape.
Chief Supt. Isaac Obeng Dompreh, when contacted by this portal acknowledged the difficulties confronting the barracks over the years.
To address the problem, he said he has personally instituted measures in place to renovate some of the affected buildings.
“It has come to my attention. I even attempted to [renovate the buildings] gradually and by God’s grace I’ve been able to do two of them and I’m trying hard to [continue with the others], my problem is the finances,” he said.
“So far there are two blocks, I’ve managed to do the apron, and then do a little work and fixed some electrical gadgets and finally, I’ve painted one block so I’m yet to move to another block.”
Though financially challenged, he said he has also initiated works on another Inspector’s quarters after which he hopes to move to the other blocks.
The blocks are at the mercy of heavy rainwater from the adjoining mountains whenever it rains, washing the soil from the base of the buildings and thereby exposing the skeletal frames of the foundations.
“When it rains, there’s a massive erosion and it has created a lot of holes under the buildings, created a home for various reptiles, sometimes alligators and snakes are found over there so this is the main problem, very dangerous and the personnel there have been complaining a lot about snakes being found in holes over there and in fact the way the erosion is damaging the buildings, if we don’t take care or we don’t do things fast, we would not be surprised if some of them even collapse,” he complained.
The commander who said he would have addressed all the problems at once if he had the financial means said he is tackling the problem one at a time.
To solve the problems, Chief Supt. Dompreh said he is in the process of soliciting assistance in cash or kind from prominent members of the district towards addressing the problems confronting the barracks. These include NGOs, the Asuogyaman District Assembly, the MP, etc. adding that the barracks are also ready to accept assistance from members of the general public.
On how the situation was affecting the performance of the personnel, he said, “If the accommodation is not sound, it’ll definitely affect the performance.”
Vehicles used by the personnel are not in the best of shape and the commander when asked, described them as “old.”
“The vehicles we are using are old [and] for that matter, they experience constant breakdowns and you know when a vehicle is old, you repair this part and another part and you run the vehicles almost every day. You use the vehicles to do patrols, send prisoners to court, send them to prisons, to visit crime scenes so when the vehicles break down like that, it affects our operational duties,” said the commander.
With the new directive to police not to sit directly in bullion vans but in separate police vehicles, he said it has become imperative to have more police vehicles to discharge this directive.
An eroded foundation of one of the police quarters in Akosombo