Accra: Vice President Professor Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang has called for intensified public education on law enforcement to strengthen public trust and voluntary compliance with the law. She emphasized the importance of public understanding of the mandates of security agencies, the purpose of laws, and the consequences of violating them, as essential for effective governance and national development.
According to Ghana News Agency, the Vice President made the call during a working visit to the Ministry for the Interior to review its achievements, challenges, and government priorities. The meeting was attended by the Deputy Minister for the Interior, heads of security agencies, and representatives of various national bodies, including the National Peace Council and the National Commission on Small Arms and Light Weapons.
Prof Opoku-Agyemang underscored that public education is vital for the successful implementation of laws and public policies, especially for citizens not directly involved in decision-making. She also emphasized the need to maintain public confidence in the security services by ensuring that personnel remain approachable, professional, and transparent. 'One of the major issues, I think, has to do with public trust. The public must have faith in us. They must have so much faith in us that they want to collaborate with us because they believe in what we are doing. In the end, it is about their own safety,' she stated.
The Vice President highlighted security as the foundation of national development and called for greater investment in equipment maintenance and the training of technicians to ensure the efficient use and longevity of public assets. Earlier, Minister of Interior Alhaji Muntaka Mohammed-Mubarak briefed the Vice President on the Ministry's recent achievements, including the passage of the Security and Intelligence Agencies Bill and the Community Service Bill by Parliament.
The Minister reported that 18 services under the Ministry, such as immigration and private security registration, had been digitalized, with the newly introduced electronic visa system receiving nearly 1,500 applications from 78 countries within its first month. Mr. Mohammed-Mubarak also noted the strengthened operational capacity of the Police, Prisons, Fire, Immigration, and Narcotics Control services through the acquisition of vehicles and specialized equipment.
Anti-narcotics efforts have been reinforced by establishing a dedicated narcotics court, granting prosecutorial powers to the Narcotics Control Commission, and conducting public education campaigns that reached nearly half a million students in 2025. On the issue of illicit arms, the Minister mentioned that an amnesty program and law enforcement operations had led to the surrender and seizure of more than 4,000 firearms, some of which were publicly destroyed last week.
Despite acknowledging resource constraints as a continued challenge, the Minister reaffirmed the Ministry's commitment to strengthening Ghana's internal security architecture to promote peace, stability, and national development.