Akosombo, Feb. 24, GNA – The National Commission on Small Arms and Light Weapons (NCSALW) says it has assigned unique codes to about a third (30 per cent) of firearms belonging to the various security agencies to enable easy identification, traceability and accountability.
The “National Weapons Marking” exercise seeks to ensure that all guns belonging to the security agencies, as well as civilians, are marked with the unique codes and other features, with information on the owners captured into a database.
The weapons coding exercise is in accordance with Article 18 of the ECOWAS Convention on Small Arms and Light Weapons, which mandates countries in the sub-region to mark their weapons to enable identification and traceability.
Mr Jones Applerh, Executive Secretary, Small Arms Commission, told journalists at stakeholder engagement workshop at Akosombo in the Eastern Region on Thursday, that the Commission had successfully marked all arms belonging to the Ghana Immigration Service.
“We have finished with the Immigration Service. With the Police Service, we are done with some mop up in Greater Accra. We are also working on that of the Ghana Armed Forces. In terms of weapons being held by security services, we have marked about 30 to 40 per cent,” he said.
A national small arms baseline survey conducted by the Small Arms Commission in collaboration with the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre in 2014 and released in 2016 established that 2.3 million small arms were circulating in the country as of that time.
The study indicated that 1.1 million of the arms were being possessed illegally by civilians, posing a threat to national security.
As part of efforts to address the proliferation of small arms, the Small Arms Commission said it had established the Ghana Arms Database System to provide credible data on all weapons and help to track and check gun trafficking among other functions.
To ensure an effective rollout of the system, the Commission on Thursday, February, 24, 2022, held a meeting with its stakeholders, including security agencies, security experts, Ministry of Interior, National Peace Council, development partners and donors to solicit their input.
The two-day meeting was also intended to adopt a four-year strategic plan on measures to deal with small arms proliferation as well as the implementation of the database system.
Mr Applerh appealed to the various security agencies and other relevant stakeholders to support and collaborate with the Commission to make the database functional.
Professor Paul Frimpong- Manso, Board Chairman, Small Arms Commission, called for a review of the Act that established the Commission (Act 736) to make it a regulatory body instead of an advisory one.
He said the inability of the Commission to undertake regulatory functions was one of the challenges confronting efforts to stem the proliferation of small arms in the country.
Madam Adelaide Anno-Kumi, Chief Director, Ministry of the Interior, said there was the need for more collaboration among security agencies towards a review of the fight against violent crimes to respond to emerging threats and security challenges on the continent.
She urged the Commission to raise awareness among the populace, especially in border communities and gather relevant information to support the work of security agencies.
Dr Edward Fokuoh Ampratwum, Governance Lead, United Nations Development Programme, urged the Commission to promote inclusivity and gender equality in small arms control by ensuring that its strategic plan provided equal opportunities for women to participate in decision making.
GNA