Interior Minister Mubarak Muntaka worries about all the guns floating around Ghana these days. He wants big changes to how the country handles gun permits. He talked with Muslim and Christian leaders separately about his worries. He explained national security problems and asked them to back his plans for new rules.
The current way people get gun permits makes no sense to him. Right, anyone can write a letter asking for a gun license, and officials just sign off without checking who these people are. The government writes down gun registrations by hand on paper, making it impossible to know exactly how many legal guns exist in Ghana. The fighting happening across the Sahel region makes everything worse because weapons keep sneaking across the border.
Ghana depends on just one system to spot illegal weapons, which came as a gift from Germany. Muntaka believes Ghana needs computers to keep track of everyone who wants a gun permit. He wants the National Intelligence Bureau to run background checks on everybody before they can carry firearms. His plan includes connecting people's fingerprints with their Ghana Cards for faster identification of gun owners. He aims to put modern weapon scanners throughout the country to watch gun movements.
The minister expects pushback from people who like the current setup. He asked the religious leaders, Please talk about this during your services. We need your help spreading the message. We must figure out exactly how many legal guns exist in our country. He hopes churches and mosques will use their influence to help fight against having way too many guns everywhere.
The current way people get gun permits makes no sense to him. Right, anyone can write a letter asking for a gun license, and officials just sign off without checking who these people are. The government writes down gun registrations by hand on paper, making it impossible to know exactly how many legal guns exist in Ghana. The fighting happening across the Sahel region makes everything worse because weapons keep sneaking across the border.
Ghana depends on just one system to spot illegal weapons, which came as a gift from Germany. Muntaka believes Ghana needs computers to keep track of everyone who wants a gun permit. He wants the National Intelligence Bureau to run background checks on everybody before they can carry firearms. His plan includes connecting people's fingerprints with their Ghana Cards for faster identification of gun owners. He aims to put modern weapon scanners throughout the country to watch gun movements.
The minister expects pushback from people who like the current setup. He asked the religious leaders, Please talk about this during your services. We need your help spreading the message. We must figure out exactly how many legal guns exist in our country. He hopes churches and mosques will use their influence to help fight against having way too many guns everywhere.
