- Many young people in Africa “wake up each day not knowing where their next meal will come from and, over time, the instincts of such individuals become shaped by anger, hopelessness and despair”, the minister said
The Minister of National Security, Albert Kan-Dapaah, has declared that ensuring a peaceful and secure Ghana is a shared responsibility between the government and society as a whole, and says the newly launched National Security Strategy (NSS) is a useful strategic document that should be embraced by both sides to help Ghanaians attain their desired objective of a safe, secure and peaceful nation.
The NSS is the blueprint for the co-ordination of the total national response effort to protect and safeguard Ghana from threats, risks and challenges to security and stability on both the domestic and international fronts. The President of the Republic, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, outdoored the strategy on Monday 7 June 2021.
Delivering a public lecture to the security and intelligence Master’s degree class at the University of Professional Studies in Accra (UPSA) on the theme “General Perspectives and Trends of National Security in Ghana”, Kan-Dapaah argued that what can best address the country’s new human security challenges is a holistic approach, as projected by the NSS.
“Currently, the major trend within the intelligence community is the new National Security Strategy, which was launched recently by the president of Ghana,” the minister said. “It is the first of its kind to be produced since independence.
“The document is the blueprint that outlines the strategic vision, mission and mechanisms for safeguarding and promoting Ghana’s national security interests.
“The exciting aspect of the document is that it places more emphasis on human security. It adopts a whole-of-government and a whole-of-society approach towards mitigating national security threats.
“By this approach, the document further reinforces the notion that national security is the collective responsibility of all citizens and not just the sole responsibility of the Ministry of National Security,” Kan-Dapaah said.
“Indeed, the whole-of-government approach enjoins all other ministries to develop policies and frameworks from the National Security Strategy towards the attainment of Ghana’s national security goals. More importantly, the coming into force of the strategy has triggered positive reforms across all facets of the national security architecture,” the minister further said.
“Key among these reforms is the modernisation of the operations department of the ministry, which will be critical for building trust between security personnel and the citizenry.
“I am confident that the National Security Strategy is a powerful document which holds the key to safeguarding the peace and security of Ghana even for generations yet unborn,” Kan-Dapaah said.
Security spending
In his presentation, the National Security Minister said that Ghana currently spends about 0.4% of its GDP on security. This figure, he said, “is way below the estimated 2% spent by Ghana’s neighbouring countries in the West African sub-region”.
He said that, consequently, “Procurement for equipment necessary for the enhancement of security in the country is a major challenge.” The minister said the situation demands urgent work to ensure that Ghana’s quest to build a strong national security architecture is achieved.
“At the onset of the year, the Ministry of National Security, in collaboration with the defence and interior ministries, [has] been aggressively pushing for an increase in the investment in the security sector,” Kan-Dapaah said.
“Mention can be made of efforts to revamp the security sector by recruiting more qualified personnel, organising enhanced training programmes and providing the necessary logistics.”
A cross-section of guests at the public lecture
Security threats
Kan-Dapaah argued that the main internal threats which could undermine the country’s peace and stability are “land and chieftaincy disputes, farmer-herder conflicts, youth unemployment, kidnapping for ransom, illegal mining, secession attempts by the Homeland Study Group Foundation and the Western Togoland Restoration Front, violent crimes such as armed robbery, and election-related violence”.
On the external front, the National Security Minister noted that “terrorism and violent extremism remain the foremost threats, which require the concerted efforts of all state security and intelligence agencies to mitigate”.
He added: “Events in the West African sub-region, particularly in neighbouring Burkina Faso, Nigeria, Côte d’Ivoire, Mali and Niger, where the impact of terrorism has mostly been felt, and recent indications by some terrorist groups in the Sahel to expand to countries along the coast, should serve as a reminder that Ghana is not totally immune to the threat of terrorism.
“Aside the internal and external threats, Ghana’s security architecture has been contending with new and emerging threats, notably the COVID-19 pandemic, cybercrime and maritime insecurity.
“The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, which affected all facets of our lives, are well reported and need no elaboration. But the recent surge in piracy attacks on the territorial waters of Ghana underscores the need for critical attention to be given to maritime security,” the minister said.
Youth unemployment
Speaking from the human security perspective, the National Security Minister observed: “Youth unemployment presents the greatest threat to national security. Indeed, it is the single security threat that confronts all countries in sub-Saharan Africa.”
Many young people in Africa, he said, have become survivalists. “They wake up each day not knowing where their next meal will come from,” he said, “and over time, the instincts of such individuals become shaped by anger, hopelessness and despair.”
He further observed that, “at the tipping point”, these unemployed youngsters “can do whatever it takes to survive, including rising up in arms or subscribing to radicalisation by terrorists and violent extremists”.
“Currently, Ghana’s youth unemployment rate is estimated to be 9.46%. Although, we are better relative to other countries in the sub-region, such a statistic must be reduced to its barest minimum if we hope to consolidate our peace and security now and in the future.
“Thankfully, the reduction of youth unemployment through job creation is a major priority of the current government. I am hopeful that the government’s co-ordinated policies and programmes geared toward a post-pandemic recovery will lead to the creation of jobs for the youth in the country,” Kan-Dapaah said.
Wilberforce Asare
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