By Ewoenam Kpodo
Ho, Jan 30, GNA- The Ho Municipal Information Services Department, (ISD) has embarked on a public education campaign on Gun Amnesty Programme (GAP), urging citizens to surrender their unregistered firearms without fear of prosecution.
Mrs Yvonne Elikplim Harlley-Kanyi, Ho Municipal Information Officer had been explaining that the programme, running from December 1, 2025 to January 30, 2026, aimed to reduce the proliferation of illicit firearms and promote national security, emphasising that individuals surrendering their weapons would not be arrested, interrogated, or prosecuted.
She encouraged everyone including community leaders to support the initiative by visiting designated points in the municipality to willingly submit their guns, saying the programme aimed to curb gun violence and related crimes in Ho, Volta and the country at large, and noted that security agencies would intensify operations to retrieve illicit arms after the amnesty had ended.
The campaign (started Wednesday and expected to end Friday) which had seen officers of the Ho ISD visit communities in the municipality including the Sokode, Takla and Hodo areas, Hoviefe, Kpenoe, Nyive, Atikpui, Tokokoe and Shia, was in direct response from the Volta Regional ISD to its district offices to undertake the three-day intensive public education campaign on GAP.
The Directive formed part of a nationwide campaign by the ISD with support from the Ministry of Interior and Small Arms Commission to sensitise the public on the objectives, processes, and benefits of the GAP, which encourages the voluntary surrender of illegal and unregistered firearms.
Mr. Emmanuel Kwesi Domi, Volta Regional Information Officer, charged Municipal and District Information Officers in the region to fully commit themselves to the campaign and ensure that the message reached every segment of the population.
He urgem them to make effective use of all available communication channels, including community information centres, community gatherings and radio discussions, to disseminate accurate information on the programme.
Mrs Harlley-Kanyi in an interview with Ghana News Agency said the campaign which had seen her team reach various communities with the message of GAP had so far been successful, based on people’s reception, attention and the urge to find out more about the programme.
Some residents were pleased with the sensitisation by the ISD saying, the team was communicating clearly what they needed to know and what was required of them, with some asking for further extension of the amnesty period so the message could reach underserved communities.
At Shia, a border community, Fiator (Stool father) Felix Ako said the objective of GAP was laudable and encouraged community members to follow in his steps, embrace the programme and act to get their firearms registered, noting, it was not wrong to own a gun.
“Those of us at the border, it’s good to have our gun registered. Because anything can happen and at that moment, our gun will not be an offensive weapon but a defensive one. I visited Ho District Police to surrender mine and there was no interrogation, no harassment. They only took my particulars and said I would hear from them in a week’s time.
What I’ve observed is that not much is being done to get the message across to the people and so, not many people are aware of this programme. I’ll wish that the date is extended further to reach even more people so the programme’s objective can be achieved.”
GNA
Edited by Maxwell Awumah/Kenneth Odeng Adade