NATCOM Board Chairman reaffirms commitment to passage of National Small Arms Bill

The Governing Board Chairman of the National Commission on Small Arms and Light Weapons (NATCOM), Honourable Godwin Animli Dorgbadzi-Dorani, has reiterated the board’s commitment to securing the passage of the National Small Arms Bill.

“This bill aims to regulate the proliferation of small arms and light weapons in Ghana, promoting public safety and security, and also to deal with deficiencies in the mandate of NATCOM which have affected its effectiveness.

“The National Small Arms Bill is crucial in addressing the root causes of insecurity and violence in Ghana,” Hon. Dorgbadzi-Dorani, who is also the Member of Parliament for Adansi Asokwa in the Ashanti Region, told Modern Ghana News in an interview on the sidelines of the High-Level Consultative Meeting.

The meeting, held at Ada Foah from August 28 to 31, was organised by the Saving Lives Entity’s (SALIENT) Fund Project through the West Africa Action Network on Small Arms (WAANSA Ghana). It was themed “Towards a Robust Regulatory Framework for Small Arms in a Reset Agenda.”

Hon. Dorgbadzi-Dorani explained that controlling the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons would reduce the risk of armed violence, crime, and conflict. He added that the bill’s passage would also enable Ghana to meet its international obligations under the ECOWAS Convention on Small Arms and Light Weapons and other treaties the nation has signed.

He emphasised that the bill seeks to regulate the trade, possession, and transfer of small arms and light weapons, while also raising public awareness of the dangers of proliferation. He noted that it would enhance the capacity of security agencies to control and manage small arms effectively.

Hon. Dorgbadzi-Dorani called for broad collaboration to ensure the bill’s passage, appealing to the Ministry of the Interior, security agencies, civil society organisations, development partners, and international bodies to lend their support.

“Once passed, the National Small Arms Bill will reduce the proliferation of small arms, enhance public safety, and strengthen national security. It will also affirm Ghana’s compliance with international protocols and conventions, fostering cooperation with other countries and international organisations,” he stressed.

Meanwhile, Mr. Seidu Aminu, a State Attorney at the Attorney General’s Department, schooled stakeholders on the legislative enactment process. He urged the bill’s sponsors to carefully craft policy objectives, adopt realistic timelines, and allocate sufficient time for Cabinet approvals, parliamentary processes, and implementation.

“Even if these consultations were conducted in the past, there is the need to undertake them again under the new political government dispensations. There have been changes across both the public and most private institutions and establishments; ideally, the sponsors must reignite engagement to make the process smooth,” Mr. Aminu advised.

He reminded participants that the legislative process is long and involves three stages: pre-parliamentary, parliamentary, and post-parliamentary.

The meeting brought together representatives from the Ministry of the Interior, the Attorney General’s Department, the Narcotics Control Board, the Ghana Boundary Commission, the Ghana Law Reform Commission, parliamentarians, policymakers, NATCOM, and civil society organisations. International stakeholders included the International Action Network on Small Arms (IANSA) and UN agencies in Ghana such as UNDP, UNREC, UNRCO, and UNODC.

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