Muntaka Mohammed-Mubarak, Member of Parliament for Asawase and the newly nominated Minister for the Interior, has vowed to tackle the misuse and proliferation of small arms in Ghana. He highlighted the urgency of addressing this critical security issue, emphasizing that the illegal use of firearms poses a significant threat to national safety.
Speaking during his vetting in Parliament on Friday, January 24, Muntaka outlined plans to introduce technology-driven solutions to strengthen Ghana’s surveillance and tracking systems for firearms. “One of the major things I want to do immediately is the introduction of IT to track who has been given a gun and for what purpose it was approved,” he stated.
He pointed out the inadequacies in the current firearm registration system, stressing the need for a comprehensive and reliable database. According to him, having such a system would enable policymakers to understand the scale of gun violence and implement effective strategies to curb it. “If you go to the National Security and want to pinpoint who has registered their arms, even those with permits, you’ll be shocked to find that there’s no comprehensive data readily available,” he lamented.
Muntaka further emphasized the importance of curbing the illicit flow of small arms within the country. He believes the use of advanced surveillance tools and collaborative efforts with experienced security professionals will significantly minimize gun-related crimes. “We need to be serious about the proliferation of small arms where they are coming from, how they are moving around, and how people are using them,” he stressed.
