Central Region stakeholders assess national security threats

The National Security Council Secretariat convened a one-day meeting in Cape Coast, Central Region, to evaluate the 2020 National Security Strategy. The gathering aimed to solicit regional viewpoints on security threats, risks, vulnerabilities, and emerging concerns, as well as contribute to a revised, forward-looking national security blueprint. Representatives from civil society, academia, traditional authorities, and clergy convened to scrutinize the existing document as part of the statutory review process.

Dr. Muhammad Baako, the Technical Advisor and Intelligence Advisor to the National Security Coordinator, elucidated that the 2020 national security strategy was enacted to preserve national sovereignty, shield citizens, and preserve peace, security, and stability. He further stated that the National Security Council Secretariat was currently reviewing the 2020 strategy, in accordance with the Security and Intelligence Agency Act, 2026 (Act 1168), and other pertinent policies.

Dr. Baako elaborated that the meeting aimed to obtain stakeholders' considered assessments of two key issues pertinent to the Central Region; however, the revised document remained in draft form and had not been finalized.

The Central Region boasts a sizable youthful populace within secondary and tertiary institutions, a diverse tourism sector, and a vast coastal fishing community. While these attributes confer economic gains to the region and the nation at large, they simultaneously engender security vulnerabilities owing to the challenges associated with monitoring activities and individuals traversing the region.

Dr. Baako noted that the draft strategy addressed these concerns as interconnected with the three priorities earlier mentioned in his address, as opposed to treating them as isolated issues. The revised strategy would reorient national security governance from a focus on state security to individual security and from a reactive approach to a more participatory one.

He emphasized that responsibility would be distributed beyond traditional uniform services to encompass traditional authorities, district assemblies, and other relevant entities.