Help contain threat of terrorism — Agalga
The Deputy Minister of the Interior, Mr James Agalga, has warned that the threat of terrorism on Ghana is real and advised citizens to be vigilant to help contain the potential danger.
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He said despite the potential of the threat on Ghana, national security had taken steps to contain the situation.
“Ghana has come under threat from terrorists in recent times,” he said as he referenced cases in Burkina Faso and Cote d’Ivoire – Ghana’s neighbours to the north and west respectively – within the space of a month.
“The threat of terrorism in Ghana is real, but we would want to assure you, as a government, that steps and measures have been put in place to forestall the occurrence of terrorism in our country.
“Even if it occurs, we can assure you that the steps that have been put in place will minimise the impact of any such attack,” he said.
The deputy minister, who was addressing the public during last Tuesday’s Government for the People Forum in Wa, said the threat of terrorism on Ghana was “an existential one and we should not play down on the nature of the threat”.
Citizen awareness
He said the awareness that was created recently when the threat seemed most real was aimed at ensuring that “all of us are vigilant enough, that we all act as policemen in our own small ways, so that when we observe the presence of suspicious characters in our midst, we will immediately volunteer information on their presence to the security agencies”.
Mr Agalga said a number of counter-terrorism measures had been put in place, including the training of personnel under the counter-terrorism unit, to help deal with the threat.
Listing the government’s successes in the area of security, he said the over 1,500 vehicles given to the Ghana Police Service since President Mahama acceded to the presidency in 2012, compared to the 541 vehicles the police received between 2001 and 2008, and the improved police-population ratio of 1:700, compared to the 1:1,100 as of 2008, were indicators of a general improvement in the government’s efforts at securing the population.
He said the transparency introduced into the recruitment of persons into the security services through the electronic system and the retooling of the various security agencies with very sophisticated equipment only emphasised the government’s commitment to national security.