2.3 million weapons with civilians in Ghana - GNACSA

The Ghana National Commission of Small Arms (GNACSA) has revealed that about 2.3 million weapons are in possession of the civilian population in Ghana.

The figure according to a baseline survey conducted by the Kofi Anan International Peace keeping Centre (KAIPC), estimates that about 1.2 million of such weapons are in the records of the appropriate authorities with the remaining 1.1 million unknown.

Mr. Johnson Asante-Twum, a Senior Programmes Officer at GNACSA who revealed this on the Ultimate Breakfast Show hosted by Lantam Papanko, observed that every weapon is dangerous to the country’s political and economic stability.

“Every weapon is dangerous to our political stability if it is in the hands of unknown persons”, he revealed.

According to him, the situation is more alarming because the rationale for which the weapons were acquired by persons in possession of them, is unknown indicating that such weapons are dangerous to the owners, family and the country.

“If the person has mental instability he can use such a weapon at the least provocation. He needs to go through the processes in order to be certified to hold a weapon”, he added

He expressed worry that the West African sub-region continue to be a destination for light weapons calling on the security agencies to step up various measures to reduce the number of arms in the hands of the civilian population.