[ad_1]
General news for Friday, November 6, 2020
Source: GNA
2020-11-06
Thousands of firearms were destroyed Thursday
The National Commission for Small Arms and Light Weapons on Thursday, November 5, 2020, destroyed a total of 1,194 confiscated small arms in the western and northern western regions, as part of efforts to raise awareness of the dangers of illicit weapons.
Of the figure, 1,068 are foreign-made weapons, including single and double-barreled rifles accounting for 89.5%, seized Pump Action made up 3.9%, with 0.7% of G3 riffles, AK riffles 47, accounting for 0.3%, Mark-4 Riffle recording 0.2%, foreign pistols, 0.2% and 0.1% of SMG rifles.
Jones Applerh, Executive Secretary of the Commission, said that from 2005 to 2018 the Commission, in collaboration with the Ghana Police Service, the Armed Forces and other security agencies, had seized and destroyed 10,052 illicit small arms.
According to him, in 2016 the commission destroyed more than 1,319 and in 2018 a total of 2,700 illicit weapons were destroyed.
Applerh said the exercise was intended to prevent small arms from entering the country and relevant state institutions should pay close attention to the management and control of ammunition, in addition to appropriate political interventions.
He praised the hard work of security personnel at the nation’s borders to arrest criminals and prevent arms smugglers from smuggling into the country.
The Executive Secretary said that the government was providing scanners, CCTV cameras in Accra, patrol vehicles, among others, to improve the functioning of the various security agencies and ensure the public safety and security of all people who they live in the country.
Applerh, however, said that government efforts alone would not be enough if citizens failed to do their part by voluntarily offering information to law enforcement agencies and called on all civil society organizations, traditional leaders, media outlets. communication and the general public to join the Commission’s effort in the fight against the proliferation of weapons in the country.
“I call on all Ghanaians to uphold our unique values of brotherhood, patriotism and peaceful coexistence as we approach the 2020 elections.”
The Reverend Professor Paul Frimpong Manso, Chairman of the Board of the Commission, noted that weapons destruction exercises are used to draw public attention to the scourge of the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons.
“The proliferation of small arms and light weapons inflicts a great deal of unnecessary human death and suffering, especially among women and children, and also derails development and destabilizes societies.”
Professor Manso pointed out that small arms and light weapons are the tools that sustain and prolong conflicts, adding that they are used to commit high-level armed violence and help terrorists, armed groups, among others. “The proliferation of small arms and light weapons and easy access for civilians pose a major threat to the security of our democracy and socio-economic development.
The chairman of the board said that Ghana has been ranked as the most peaceful country in West Africa by the Global Peace Index and the third in Africa and is also described as a beacon of democracy in Africa, emphasizing that this was praise that must be jealously guarded.
He noted that the threats posed by electoral violence, if not properly managed, run the risk of rolling back the county’s development dividends, adding that “therefore, we cannot afford to ignore these emerging threats as we move closer to the 2020 elections must be of great concern to all. “
Professor Manso praised the security agencies for their commitment to safeguarding the peace and security that the nation currently enjoys and stressed that security is a shared responsibility.
Ms Gifty Eugenia Kusi, Deputy Minister of the Western Region, said the government has taken a serious view on the issue of illicit small arms and light weapons and has adopted measures that would prevent criminals, armed groups and other non-state actors from having access to illicit weapons small arms that are always the weapons of choice for criminals.
Ms Kusi said that the Government has provided the Commission with resources to mark the weapons of the state security agencies, and stated that the marking of the weapons of the Ghana Police Service and Immigration Service was almost complete.
He explained that the marking exercise would improve gun accountability, make it easier to trace and identify stolen or lost weapons.
With proper political intervention, technical and financial support, including the necessary training for blacksmith associations to control the manufacture of illicit artisanal small arms, the industry could be promoted to create employment for young people, Ms Kusi said.
He said that the blacksmith industry could be properly harnessed to make quality household items, farm implements, auto parts, hospital screens, and metal beds, among other things.
That, said the Vice Minister of the Western Region, will strengthen the fight against the production of artisanal small arms through close collaboration with associations of blacksmiths and will channel their skills and energies into meaningful enterprises.
Referring to the December polls, he said: “On December 7, Ghanaians go to the polls to exercise our right to vote and to elect our political leaders, this must be done in peace, do not bring arms to any electoral college since the section 7 of the The Arms and Ammunition Law of 1972 prohibits the display or firing of firearms in public. “
He called on the media to be cautious in what they say or report and asked them to join the government and the Commission in educating and sensitizing Ghanaians, particularly young people, about the dangers of gun violence. and help promote peaceful general elections, peacebuilding, and the armed forces. -Violence-free societies.
Send your news to
and features for
. Chat with us through WhatsApp at +233 55 2699 625.
