The committee chaired by Mr Kobby Asmah, the Political Editor of the Daily Graphic, has Messrs Micheal Yaw Frimpong as Vice Chairman, Isaac Obeng Mensah, Secretary, and Emmanuel Owusu as Assistant secretary. The rest are, Madam Aba Baffoe, Financial Secretary, Ms Suzzy Abbam, Assistant Financial Secretary and Ms Linda Appiah Mireku, Coordinator.

The objective of the association is to foster unity, orderly layout and development of New Bortianor.

Combating crime

 At an inaugural ceremony and end-of-year get-together, the Kokrobite District Police Commander, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Mr Simon Agbodeka, asked Ghanaians to complement the efforts of the police in combating crime.

He suggested that neighbourhoods could adopt common signals to alert their kith and kin about criminal attacks when they were in danger and distress.

According to Mr Agbodeka, blowing of whistles and other signals could convey a message to the residents within the neighbourhood to rally support for beleaguered people before deciding to seek police assistance.

He said even though the police would respond to distress and emergency calls, their arrival at crime scenes could be late in averting crimes since the criminals would have escaped.

The officer further advised residents to provide facilities for the police to establish their presence within their communities to give them the necessary protection.

Control emotions

The chairman of the association, Mr Asmah, stated that unnecessary confrontations in communities could be avoided if people suppressed their emotions and resorted to dialogue.

Mr Asmah said the simple expression of ‘I am sorry’ could calm tempers and also soothe wounds of aggrieved persons.

He called on Ghanaians to be law abiding at all times and also offer the necessary support to the police to ensure law and order in their communities.

Challenges

The secretary of the association, Mr Mensah, mentioned water, roads and security as some of the challenges facing people in the area.

He said the association intended to embark on a tree-planting project to tackle environmental issues in the area. The secretary deplored the attitude by some chiefs who engaged land guards to harass property owners.