The West Africa Action Network on Small Arms and Light Weapons (WAANSA) says the current laws regulating small arms and light weapons in the country was outdated and unable to regulate the emerging trends and control of weapons.
It has therefore, called on the government to enact a robust legal system with the passage of the Small Arms and Light Weapons Bill into law to control the proliferation of small arms and light weapons in the country which unfortunately entered the wrong hands and are using them in conflict areas especially in the northern part of the country.
These came to light in Accra on Friday, during a media engagement with WAANSA with the objective to enhance their advocacy and lobby capacity for legal reforms in small arms and light weapons in the country.
The President of WAANSA, Ken Kinney, in an address said a proper regulation of small arms and light weapons was necessary to achieve the desired goals of limiting the illegalities of these deadly weapons not only in Ghana but also across the West Africa region.
He expressed regret that the passage of the bill into law had dragged and emphasised the need therefore, for strong advocacy on the part of the media.
“Small arms and light weapons control remained a critical developmental issue which required a robust regulatory framework to deal adequately with arms governance issues to save lives.
He noted that WAANSA-GHANA was committed to ensuring that all key stakeholders understand the need for the enactment of a legal framework to control the proliferation of small arms and light weapons and ammunition in the country as it had been given an exclusive role within the SALIENT project to lead in advocacy.
Mr Kinney also took the opportunity to acknowledge the contributions made by various individuals and organisations to ensure that the engagement with the media was made possible.
“I believe by the end of this engagement, the media will be in a better position to support or join the CSOs to advocate and lobby for the passage of the Arms Commission Bill into law,” he added.
The programme was implemented by WAANSA Ghana, KAIPTIC, Ghana National Commission on Small Arms and Light Weapons, and partnered by United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, United Nations Office of Disarmament Affairs, United Nations Ghana.
A resource person and executive member of WAANSA , Mr Johnson Asante-Twum, in a presentation lamented that currently there was no limit to the number of weapons a qualified individual could have and that he said “gives the individual the room to build an armoury in his house without infringing on any law”.
Again, there was no legally allowed competency training facility for an individual who acquired a weapon, adding that given the advancement of technology and development it was dangerous to license the weapon and not license the owner or trained to handle.
“It’s like using a 1962 law to fight a 2025 crime, We cannot do that with this kind of antiquated law,” Mr Johnson pointed out.
This, he said, necessitated a need for a robust arms control and the setting up of a stronger regulator to deal with the issues within the arms and ammunition space in Ghana, hence the need to pass the National Arms Commission Bill.
He also highlighted the rapid evolution of technology in manufacturing weapons, including 3D printing and polymer weapons, which he said the current law was ill-equipped to address.
Additionally, Mr Johnson emphasised the importance of regulating ammunition in the country, citing the lack of limits on the amount of ammunition an individual can buy.
“We need to properly regulate the system, if we don’t regulate and allow unfettered access to weapons, you never know what will happen tomorrow,” he cautioned.
BY CYNTHIA ASAMPANA
