I am more than prepared for IGP post- COP Tiwaa Addo-Danquah

The Director -General of the Criminal investigations Department (CID), COP Maame Yaa Tiwaa Addo-Danquah has declared her preparedness to be Inspector General of Police(IGP) if appointed.
According to her, although it was the President’s decision in consultation with the Council of State to appoint an IGP, she believed she had passed through all the ranks and therefore qualified for the position.
The current IGP, David Asante Apeatu is set to retire soon and several names have popped up for his replacement .
The names mentioned include COP Kofi Boakye, Director-General of the Police Professional Standards Bureau, Maame Yaa Tiwaa Addo- Danquah and Director-General of Welfare of the Ghana Police Service, COP Dr. George Akuffo Dampare.
Speaking on Atinka TV’s Big Stories on Saturday with Abena Dufie Aboagye, 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.
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,” she said.
Having heard rumours about women not being competent for the position, she argued 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 added.
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, afterall 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.
Ghana| Atinkaonline.com| Porcia Oforiwaa Ofori