Ghana celebrates global week of actions against gun violence

Campaigners against the proliferation of small arms are using this week to high light the dangers of the increasing number of light weapons in circulation around the world.

The Global Week of Action Against gun violence is being marked worldwide.

In Ghana the Small Arms Commission was reconstituted last year to check illicit trade, circulation and abuse of arms, but it has yet to start full time work.

Deputy Interior Minister Kweku Agyemang Manu who chairs the Commission says substantive appointments, including that of an executive secretary should be done by the close of the month.

In the meantime, Mr. Agyemang Manu told Joy FM's Matilda Asante that the Commission has done preliminary checks which suggest wide circulation of small arms and measures to check circualtion.

A researcher, Emmanuel Sowatey of the African Security Dialogue and Research said it would be very difficult to put a figure to guns in the hands of civilians but said at least 200,000 such arms could be with civilians.

He said the difficulty in tracking the number has to do with the number of such arms that are not registered and the frequency with which they drift from the legitimate hands into illicit hands.