Gun Commission Alerts of Over 4,000 Violent Hotspots in Ghana

In what could escalate into a full scale civil violence during the general elections, the National Commission on Small Arms and Light Weapons has identified over 4,000 hotspots where gun violence could erupt in Ghana in the coming weeks.

According to Jones Applerh, Executive Secretary of the Commission at the launch of its  ‘Ballot without bullets’ campaign the Commission is worried about the increasing influx of small arms into the country.

“Data from Police showed that 4,098 hotspots have been identified across the country. Regions with the highest hotspots include Ashanti with 635 flashpoints, 537 in Central, 405 in Eastern Region and 323 in Western. The porous nature of our borders has been a major source of illicit flow of arms into our country,” Mr. Applerh revealed.

 “Considering the increasing trend of small arms proliferation and the rising appetite of arms acquisition in Ghana, coupled with a high incidence of death through guns, the Commission would like to call on all CSOs, religious and faith-based organisations and the media to fight against the proliferation of arms.”

According to current data, there are approximately 2.3 million unlicensed guns in circulation, most of which are locally manufactured. According to security experts, should a civil unrest break out in Ghana, the free-flowing guns will provide a tough time, for security agents.

 “In spite of Government’s efforts to support our fight against the proliferation of small arms, there still remain gaps in our legislation and policy framework that needs to be dealt with urgently. This includes the absence of digitized central arms database registry which will allow gun registration centres to communicate in real-time among themselves to avoid multiple acquisition and registration of guns,” lamented Applerh.