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Ghana: Anti-Terrorism Law More Pressing Than Ever
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Public Agenda (Accra)
EDITORIAL
7 July 2008
Posted to the web 7 July 2008
Accra
Last Friday, the Anti-Terrorism Bill which is seeking to position Ghana to detect and combat terrorism in any part of the country was taken through the Consideration stage by Parliament.
Though the consideration was not completed it is expected that Parliament in the coming days will conclude debate on it and forward it for presidential assent.
The need for a law on anti-terrorism is more pressing now given the fact that Africa is vulnerable to the threat of international terrorism and important in global efforts to counter that menace.
Notably, the Bill has as one of its main objectives to prevent terrorists from using any part of Ghana, the country's resources and financial services to commit terrorist acts and to protect the right of people in the country to live in peace, freedom and security.
Aspects of the Bill captures it vividly that apart from the tragic toll on human life, terrorism has also caused destruction of property and economic devastation, in as much an imminent terrorist attack can never be defined or anticipated.
The need for an anti-terrorism law stems from the fact that though the there are provisions in the Criminal Code, 1960 (Act 20) on the safety of the state and other pertinent matters on terrorism, these are not considered adequate enough to meet current international best practice standards on the subject. It is therefore necessary to provide comprehensive anti-terrorism legislation to avoid a situation where the country may become a haven for terrorists because of laxity in the law.
The 1998 bombings of the US Embassies in Kenya and Tanzania should serve as reminders to those we have given political power and charged with protecting us.
While the Bill is under consideration, it makes it more pressing for the all of us to consider providing the security agencies with the manpower and logistics to respond timely to acts of terrorism. The current ratio of policeman to a Ghanaian is so disproportionate, and that makes fighting crime an uphill task for the police force. Numbers are an effective way of ensuring that Ghana records a low crime rate and ensure that the police are on top of their job in combating crime. While increasing the number of the Police Service is not an entirely bad idea, the motivation is to encourage people with skills to join the force.
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As the skilled population join the force, the Police will become more sophisticated, appreciating the challenges of a technologically-driven and complex society. Our security forces need to be equipped to understand the sophisticated nature of crime, the psychology of criminals, how to fight crime, and what will make those people stay in the service. Currently, they don't and that explains why they are overwhelmed by even less sophisticated crimes. Only God knows what will happen when terrorists strike.
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