All firearms to be registered

Ghanaian authorities have called for all local or imported firearms to be registered to comply with the Arms and Ammunition Inventory Committee, PANA reported. The ministry in charge of national security was reported as saying that new measures would ensure that all unauthorised weapons are identified and retrieved. In addition, steps would be taken immediately to ensure compliance with legislation on buying and selling weapons. A ban on the sale of shotguns and cartridges currently in stock is to be lifted from 1 September, with sales being conducted under strict supervision, but a freeze on the importation of shotguns and cartridges remains in effect. The inventory committee was set up last year by the National Security Council to help curb the illegal acquisition and possession of weapons, and their use in crime. The committee is to take inventory of stock held in armouries and advise on measures to make sure regulations for private use of weapons are complied with. Arms dealers are to keep records of the serial numbers of guns stored in armouries and information on their buyers. Police, customs and other authorities are to conduct periodic inspections of all armouries and magazines. An independent team is also to conduct surprise inspections, the ministry was quoted as saying. Dealers found to be trading illegally in arms are to be banned. The proliferation of small arms in West Africa has led to a dramatic rise of violent crime in some countries, according to various reports.