We must join hands to enhance security

Security is a critical condition for sustainable development. Indeed, one of the most important roles of government is the protection of citizens from security threats, both from within and outside the borders of the country.

The direct correlation between good national security and development is seen in the sharp deviation of the level of development that prevails in countries whose security is strong, as opposed to those where there is disorder, anarchy and lawlessness.

According to the 2017 Global Peace Index, the global economic impact of violence was $14.76 trillion, which is equivalent to 12.4 per cent of global Gross Domestic Product, or $1,988 per person. Violence and lawlessness thus take a toll on the development of the people.

It is worth noting that in the 2018 Global Peace Index, Ghana, the second best African country on the list after Sierra Leone, was 41st globally, with all the other first 39 countries coming from the developed world. It is because of the direct connection between peace and development that many countries make conscious efforts to invest in their military and police to ensure accelerated development.

Ghana has not fared badly in terms of its expenditure on security. The country’s military expenditure has increased from as low as $9.40 million in 1983 to $211 in 2018, reaching an all-time high of $278 in 2012. Correspondingly, there has been increased expenditure for the Interior and the National Security ministries over the years, and projections by the Ministry of Finance in its Medium-Term Expenditure Framework for 2019-2022 indicate that expenditure for the security sector altogether will increase.

Despite the efforts made, certain elements are bent on derailing the successes that we have chalked up as a country. Some hoodlums have turned their attention to our security agents as if to cow them into submission for the attackers to have their way to be able to carry out their criminal activities.

In August 2018, four policemen were hospitalised, one in critical condition, after a gunman gunned them down at Zabrama Line, near Sukura in Accra.

In February this year, gunmen clashed with police and military personnel on the Oterkpelu-Odumase-Krobo highway in the Lower Manya Krobo municipality in the Eastern Region, leading to injury to one of the security men.

And just last Tuesday evening, some hobbledehoys in military gear shot and killed a policewoman at a police checkpoint on the Kumbungu road when they were signalled to stop at a checkpoint.

The Daily Graphic reminds all that our development as a country is hinged on sound security. As such, we must all join hands in waging war against the attacks on our security agents who sacrifice their time, lives and comfort to guard our cities and towns while the rest are deeply asleep.

As the police mount a manhunt for the perpetrators, we reiterate the fact that the task of security is the responsibility of all and so we must all provide every minute information that will help bring the criminals to book.

We also encourage the police and the other security agencies to intensify their training in tactical emergency casualty care, as well as providing officers on duty with individual first aid kits which they can use in the event of attacks before help arrives.

Our security agencies must also enhance measures to counter ambush attacks which have claimed the lives of many of our men and women. But, most importantly, we all have to join hands to fight the criminals in our midst.