CLOGSAG holds public lecture - Combating threats to security in subregion
Civil servants have been advised to fully embrace cyber security as per the mission of the Civil Service Act, they bear a greater responsibility of safeguarding the interests the nation.
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The Civil Service Act, 1993 (PNDC Law 327), clearly defines its mission as “is to assist the government in the formulation and implementation of government policies for the development of the country", hence, it behoved civil servants to embrace digital literacy as a fundamental skill for the 21st Century, especially as the country had embraced digitalisation.
The Director-General of the Cyber Security Authority, Dr Albert Antwi-Boasiako, who gave the advice, thus urged the Civil and Local Government Staff Association — Ghana (CLOGSAG) to champion the cybersecurity agenda for the protection of critical systems in the country in the interest of the people.
This, they can do by ensuring a secured and resilient digital Ghana, taking charge and understanding the digitalisation agenda of the country, and also an effective implementation of the protocols needed to safeguard the digital systems.
Dr Antwi-Boasiako gave the advice at a public lecture to educate members of CLOGSAG on their roles in combating threats to peace and security in the sub-region and on the continent.
The public lecture formed part of a series of activities in the celebration of the 2024 Civil Service Week and the 2023 Awards ceremony.
The two events were commemorated to honour distinguished workers and stakeholders in the civil service space.
The public lecture was themed: "Combating threats to subregional Peace and Security: Perspectives of the Civil Service".
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In attendance were the Head of Civil Service, Dr Evans Aggrey-Darko, and the acting Dean of the Faculty of Academic Affairs and Research at the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC), Dr Kwaku Danso.
Purpose
Dr Aggrey-Darko said the multifaceted threats facing the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) sub-region and the African continent, including transnational crime, terrorism, political instability and socio-economic disparities, required that members of the civil service and Ghanaians at large to stay informed about the realities.
He added that the lecture was one of the ways for members of CLOGSAG to continue to broaden their minds on the threats to the peace and security of the sub-region.
“Let us treat our service as a corporate entity with ownership vested in all of us. The fact that ownership is pleasurable, we would tackle our duties with vigour and enthusiasm," he said.
Security concerns
Dr Danso urged the government to address issues of human security which had become recipes in luring unsuspecting people by extremist groups.
He explained that issues of unemployment must be well handled by building capacity and giving young people the right skills to be able to create jobs for themselves, saying unemployed youth were vulnerable targets for extremists.
Dr Danso said countries that had been attacked by terrorist groups had some weaknesses in their security architecture, and urged Ghana to be vigilant and avoid some of the weaknesses, including porous borders.
He added that pockets of security concerns such as farmer-herder conflicts, tribal and chieftaincy conflicts and issues of political vigilantism must be wisely handled using the law to stop them degenerating into a major nationwide concern or springboards for violent extremist groups.