Minister bemoans criminal activities

Sunyani, Aug 29, GNA - Mr. Ignatius Baffour-Awuah, Brong Ahafo Regional Minister, on Wednesday expressed concern about the proliferation of small arms, human and drug trafficking, currency counterfeiting and money laundering in the country.

He said the practices posed a great danger to the nation's security and had the potential to undermine Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), inflow of tourists and general socio-economic activities. The regional minister was speaking at a one-day workshop organized by the Ministry of Interior with support from Konrad Adenauer Foundation (KAF) International for 60 participants drawn from security agencies in the region.

The workshop was under the theme, "Improving public safety in Ghana - The role of security agencies".

Mr. Baffour-Awuah said although the nation was considered to be peaceful and doing better in security, public safety and crime levels, criminal activities such as armed robbery, rape, fraud and other negative vices were escalating at unacceptable rates.

Poor border management has been a threat to the nation's safety, he said, and that a comprehensive and careful study of the border situation had shown that crimes like illegal fishing, human and drug trafficking among others abound as a result of the little attention being given to the management of the country's frontiers.

The Regional Minister said the Interior Ministry had constituted a national peace council to serve as a vital architecture to forestall conflicts.

A migration unit had been established to examine dynamic migration and to take steps to ensure that its negative effects were minimized whilst the advantages benefited the nation.

Mr. Baffour-Awuah said allocation of resources to security agencies had been far from adequate and gave assurance that the government was examining all available options to significantly improve their working conditions.

Mr. Isaac Owusu Mensah, Senior Programme Manger of KAF, said the workshop was a follow up to a similar one held in Akosombo last year. He said the NGO cherished the partnership with the Interior Ministry and expressed the hope that it would be a key pillar in the promotion and development of good governance and sustainable democracy.