Ghana’s Cabinet approves anti-terrorism amendment law
Mr Ibrahim Murtala Mohammed, a Deputy Minister of Information and Media Relations, on Monday said Cabinet had approved the Anti-Terrorism Amendment Act and forwarded it to Parliament for subsequent approval.
He explained that the amendment was necessitated by the fact that government could not currently punish or freeze the property of individuals or groups engaged in the practice without first referring to the United Nations Security Council Laws.
Mr Mohammed said the approval of the amendment of the Act would mandate Ghana as a state to punish groups and individuals that were found culpable in the menace.
The Deputy Minister, who announced this during his daily media briefings at the Flagstaff House, said apart from indigenising the law, the amended portion would also empower the courts to mete out stiffer punishment to those engaged in the practice.
On the Whistle Blowers Act, Mr Mohammed said it would be extended from the public sector and politicians to the private sector whenever injustices were recorded concerning the citizens.
“Whenever we talk of transparency and accountability, the public focus is always on public officials and politicians, forgetting that in the private sector there are a lot of things that affect the citizens of this country,” the Deputy Minister said.
Mr Mohammed, who was reacting to some of the comments on the invitation of American investigators to assist in investigating the recent fire outbreaks, said it was not the first time government was seeking external support to unravel happenings in the country.
He said: “During former President Kufuor’s tenure of office, he asked for support for external investigators on the issues and menace of drugs and serial killing of women, which I personally believe was the right thing to do, and even President Mahama brought in Israelis to support security on the Melcom disaster.”
He said though government had confidence in the security in Ghana, it was necessary to blend the two to unravel the facts and avoid accusations from members of the general public.
Source: GNA