Ghana’s security situation best in West Africa – Expert
Security Expert and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) for the Africa Centre for Security and Intelligence Studies (ACSIS), Mr. Paul Coonley Boateng has described the current security situation in Ghana as the best compared to other West African countries.
His comments come on the back of growing concerns in the country following the alleged kidnapping of three girls in Takoradi between August 2018 and January 2019. Subsequent to that was the kidnapping and subsequent rescue of Two(2) Canadian nationals in the Ashanti regional capital, Kumasi.
Mr. Boateng told The Ghana Report in an interview that the security situation in the country has been blown out of proportion by some people to achieve certain gains adding that Ghana’s security situation is way better than that of its colleagues.
He observed that there can be no perfect State with a perfect security system and that no matter what happens, there could be some crime being committed by some people.
Notwithstanding the recent isolated incidents of robbery, kidnapping, rape, petty theft among others, the Security Expert believes Ghana is doing well in terms of protecting its citizens than any other country within the West African sub-region.
“The security situation is good, there is no cause for alarm. We are far better; when it comes to security, no country in West Africa can match up to Ghana. Statistics from official sources indicate that crime rate has been declining in recent times and that is good news for us and a sign that our security services are working.”
According to Paul Boateng, the security situation in other parts of the sub-region is quite volatile as people are unable to go about their normal duties the way residents in Ghana do.
The CEO for ACSIS asked Ghanaians to desist from downplaying the relative peace and stability in the country and do well to remain security conscious by reporting suspicious characters to the appropriate security agencies as the security of any nation is a shared responsibility.
He observed “Security is a shared responsibility and that it should not be left only to our men and women in uniform. Let us do well to report suspicious characters in our country to the security people to deal with them.”
Many in the country have expressed concern over the security situation in the country in recent times with the largest opposition party, the National Democratic Congress saying the level of insecurity has caused fear and panic among the citizenry.
A report by the African Institute for Crime, Policy and Governance Research (AFRICPGR) about violent crime statistics covering the period of seven years, from 2011 to 2018 however suggest otherwise with data available indicating a significant drop in murder cases in the country.
The report pegs the murder rate in 2018 at 1.7 per 100,000 as against 2.1/1000 in 2017, 1.9/1000 in 2016 and other higher rates in the previous years under review.
It also shows that robbery rate is the highest in 2018, pegging the rate at 6.5 robberies per 100,000 population in 2018, 6.1/1000 in 2017, 4.9/1000 in 2016 and lower rates in the previous years under review.
A key observation is that the two election years covered, in 2012 and 2016, both recorded an increase in robbery rates.