The Member of Parliament (MP) for the Banda Constituency, Ahmed Ibrahim, has inaugurated a Police Station to help strengthen law enforcement and enhance rapid police response in the the Banda-Boase area of the Bono Region.

In addition to the police station, Mr Ibrahim, who doubles as Minister of Local Government, Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs, has constructed a bungalow to provide residential accommodation to guarantee constant police presence and prompt service to the community.

The police facility is expected to deter criminal activity, strengthen community policing, and enhance public safety in Banda-Boase and its adjoining farming communities.

The inauguration of the facility was part of the MP’s five-day thanksgiving visit to the district to express gratitude for the unwavering support shown to the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the 2025 general election.

According to Mr Ibrahim, the community had, over the years, grappled with security challenges, particularly armed robbery.

He described the community as the food basket of the district, actively involved in the production of food and cash crops in commercial quantities.

"When it comes to food production, Banda-Boase is the food basket of the district.

"So in 2015, we built a police station, but we couldn't add the accommodation before exiting in 2017. The project was abandoned by our predecessors.

Mr Ibrahim said "when we came back in 2025, we decided to complete the project by adding decent four-man accommodation".

He said the government was upgrading all senior high schools (SHSs) in the region to make the region an academic excellence in the country.

"So that people will even move from the Central Region and other parts of the country to attend school here in Bono.

"We want to develop every school in the region to well-endowed grade "A" schools," he said. 

Mr Ibrahim added that the government was also investing heavily in the development of tertiary institutions in the region.

Updating the communities on the 24-hour Economy Market projects, Mr Ibrahim said the government would soon start the construction of the projects across the region.

He assured that all the market projects would be completed within one and a half years.

Mr Ibrahim explained that it was his mandate to secure developmental projects, particularly those that were captured in the party's manifesto.

He said the government was investing in the development of the District and creating jobs for the youth.

At Biema, Mr Ibrahim said the government had extended the school feeding programme to cover all schools in the district to increase school enrollments.

He pledged the government commitment to rehabilitate the deplorable roads in the district to enhance the transportation of farm produce.

As part of the visit Mr Ibrahim presented bags of rice to each community visited to support their Christmas celebration.

The MP said the visit had helped him to identify the needs of each community. 

"Even though for nine months I was in Accra, I knew their needs and have provided some of them and are awarding new contracts," he said.

Mr Ibrahim said the community engagement was to demonstrate to the people that they had not been forgotten.

The Banda District Police Commander, District Superintendent of Police (DSP) Peter Owusu, said before the facility, the district had only two police stations, which was woefully inadequate to provide maximum security.

"We only have police stations at Banda-Ahenkro and Dorbor. This means from Banda-Ahenkro through to Nsawkaw, the Tain District capital, we don't have a police station," he said.

DSP Owusu explained that inadequate police stations in the area made it very difficult to control certain crimes.

He said the strategic position of the new facility would help boost the activities of the police and reduce the crime rate, particularly armed robbery.

DSP Owusu warned the members of the community, mainly the youth to stay away from all forms of criminal activities to avoid arrest and prosecution.

He urged them to cooperate and support the police with information to fight crime in the district.

The Banda-Boasehene, Odeefour Dua-Bata-Bour Ligbi Wullotei II, said armed robbery was high in the community because there was no police station.

He recalled that recently, armed robbers stormed the community, shooting indiscriminately and succeeded in robbing shop owners who were trading along the principal streets.

Odeefour Wullotei explained that the incident could have avoided if there was a police presence and thanked the MP for constructing the facility in the community.

He advised the youth to stop attacking police stations and personnel when there was misunderstanding between them, explaining that the police were not their enemies, but around to create a safe environment for them to transact their businesses.

Odeefour Wullotei expressed the hope that the facility would help reduce crime in the community.