He said the effects of this is evidenced by the increased use of small arms in armed robbery, hijacking of vehicles, cross-border crime, ethnic, chieftaincy, land and other conflicts.

Papa Owusu-Ankomah was speaking during the launch of the International Conference on Small Arms scheduled to take place from 14th to 18th November in Ghana. It is aimed at developing a Strategic Plan to address the menace of proliferation of small arms in Ghana.

"Figures obtained from the Statistics Unit of CID Headquarters, Accra from 2002 to 2004 showed that Greater Accra, Northern, Ashanti and Volta Regions were the most affected by fire arms violence, accounting for about 45% of Ghana's fire-arms related crimes. the statistics also indicate the use of fire arms in approximately 35% of robberies, 25% of murders, 5% of man slaughters, 1% of attempted murders, 37% of chieftaincy conflicts and 1% in domestic violence cases.

Mr. Owusu-Ankomah said the proliferation of small arms posses a threat to the peace, public safety and socio-economic development of the country, which also deters investors and tourists. He said the government sees that as a serious issue.

The Minister mentioned some measures taken by the government to curb small arms proliferation in Ghana, which include the refusal to issue permit to individuals to own firearms and reviewing the laws on firearms to stiffen punishment meted out to people caught in possession of illicit arms. He said the Firearm Bureau of the Ghana Police Service is being computerized with support from UNDP to track down and keep proper record on firearms in the country and the monitoring of the stock of ammunition by dealers.

He called on the media, the judiciary, NGOs, CSOs, corporate bodies, churches, human rights activists and all stakeholders to assist the Ghana National Commission on Small Arms to fight against the proliferation of small arms in Ghana.

About 150 people would participate in the conference from different countries. Some of the conference objectives are highlighting the menace caused by the proliferation of small arms, exploring the possibility of developing an "Alternative Livelihood Programme" for local manufacturers of small arms and developing strategies to address cross-border movement of small arms in West Africa. It would also bring international good practices to bear on developing a "National Plan of Action" to address the problems posed by the proliferation of small arms.