By Dennis Peprah
Abesim (Bono), Oct. 30, GNA – Mr Joseph Addae Akwaboa, the Bono Regional Minister, has highlighted emerging security threats confronting the Bono Region and called on the National Security Council Secretariat (NSCS) to incorporate them into the development of a new National Security Strategy.
He said greater efforts were required to improve safety on highways for farmers, traders and transport operators, while addressing chieftaincy and land disputes, youth vulnerability, and substance abuse.
The Regional Minister also identified fraud targeting market women and rural communities as a security concern that required attention, particularly because Bono serves as a major transit region.
Mr Akwaboa made the remarks in a speech read on his behalf by Madam Golda Grace Asante, the Bono Regional Coordinating Director, at a stakeholder engagement on the review of the 2020 National Security Strategy (NSS) held at Abesim near Sunyani.
The meeting, organised by the National Security Council Secretariat, brought together heads of departments and agencies, security services, civil society organisations, students, and representatives of other state institutions.
Mr Akwaboa described the NSS as the foundation of national safety, saying it served as a blueprint that identifies threats, outlines national assets that require protection, and guides responses to those threats.
He said national security was not solely the responsibility of the security services but involved ensuring that farmers could work safely, traders conduct business without fear, students learn in secure environments, and investors operate confidently.
According to him, security planning enables proactive rather than reactive responses to threats.
“And so, it isn’t only about soldiers and police but about the farmer being safe to go to his farm, the market woman being safe to sell her goods, the student being safe to learn, the business owner being safe to invest and every Ghanaian being safe in his home and community,” he stated.
“Without a strategy, security becomes reactive. We only act after a crime has happened. With a strategy, we become proactive, and we anticipate, we prevent and we coordinate,” he added.
Mr Akwaboa said security was closely linked to food security, employment opportunities for the youth, healthcare delivery, environmental protection and good governance.
He noted that the strategy had guided the work of the Regional Security Council, Municipal and District Security Councils, and security agencies over the past six years.
The Minister stressed that the security landscape had evolved significantly since the strategy was developed in 2020, with several contemporary threats becoming more pronounced.
He expressed concern about the deteriorating security situation within the sub-region, citing violent extremism and terrorism in the Sahel as growing threats closer to Ghana’s borders.
Mr Akwaboa also pointed to the proliferation of small arms, transnational crimes and irregular migration, noting that criminals were increasingly exploiting technology to perpetrate offences.
“We are seeing more cyber and mobile money frauds, online scams and the use of social media to spread false information that can create fear and tension,” he said.
The Minister further raised concerns about the effects of climate change, pressure on land and water resources, chieftaincy and land disputes, and increasing drug and substance abuse among the youth, all of which present emerging security challenges.
Mr George Loh, Head of Legal and Compliance at the National Security Council Secretariat, called on participants to offer constructive criticism and practical recommendations to support the review process.
He said the Secretariat remained committed to developing a new National Security Strategy capable of addressing emerging and evolving threats to national security.
Mr Loh urged stakeholders to engage openly in discussions and provide realistic and actionable proposals for consideration.
GNA
Edited by Lydia Kukua Asamoah
Reporter: Dennis Peprah
Email: [email protected]