A 15-member board of the National Commission on Small Arms and Light Weapons has been inaugurated by the Minister for the Interior with a call on the Board to come up with a more effective ways to achieve the objectives of the institution.
Addressing the Members after the swearing-in ceremony held in Accra on July 19, 2017, the Minister for the Interior. Mr. Ambrose Dery noted that, there is a thriving weapon manufacturing industry in various communities in Ghana which is against the law, whose products (guns) have been fueling all manner of land, tribal and chieftaincy disputes across the country.
“We are reliably informed that, locally made weapons form about ninety percent of guns used in armed robbery in Ghana. Sadly, efforts by all previous Governments to introduce alternative source of livelihood to the manufacturers have not yielded the required results. The strategy to amnesty for those with unregistered arms to have them registered made very little impact.
You many therefore have to delve deep and think outside the box to come out with more sustainable strategies to win this war.” He said
In respect of unregistered guns, Mr. Dery noted that, the availability of small arms and light weapons to the numerous extremist and insurgency groups operating within the sub-region may have contributed to terrorist attack on Mali, Burkina Faso and Cote D’Ivoire. He has therefore called for continuous public education and sensitization of the public in the prevention of any attack in addition to being vigilant.
In conclusion, the Minister implored the Board Members to bring their expertise to bear in finding other sources of revenue for the Commission in addition to government’s allocation.
The National Commission on Small Arms and Light Weapons is an institution set up by an Act of Parliament, Act 736 (2007) to manage issues relating to small arms and light weapons, particularly on their misuse, easy accessibility, illegal production and cross border movement.
The Board consist of Rev. Dr. Paul Frimpong-Manso as the Chairman, Mr. Jones Borteye Applerh, Commission of Small Arms and Light Weapons, Major. Gen. W. Omane Agyekum, Ghana Armed Forces, Col. GKT Sam, Ghana Armed Forces, Mrs. Audrey Naana Abayena, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration and Mr. Dominic A. Agyeman of the Ministry of the Interior.
Others are Mrs. Florence Mullen-Ansah, Ministry of Justice & Attorney-General’s Dept., Mr. Baffour Doyi Amoa, Civil Society of Ghana, Col. Michael Kwadwo Opoku, National Security and COP Christian Tetteh Yohuno, Ghana Police Service.
The rest are COP Mr. Bright Oduro, Ghana Police Service, Mr. Peter Clave Nantuo, Ghana Immigration Service, Alhaji Seidu Iddrissu Iddisah, Customs Excise and Preventive Service, Mr. Gabriel Nsoh Ade Agana and Alex Kofi Appiah-Agyapong, both Nominees of the President.
Public Affairs & Com. Unit│ Wednesday, 19th July, 2017│Accra
