Government is expanding the use of technology and infrastructure to strengthen national security, including the deployment of 60,000 additional surveillance cameras across the country, President John Dramani Mahama has said.

The President announced this on Friday, December 5, 2025, during the inauguration of the National Signals Bureau Regional Command Centre in Ho in the Volta Region.

President Mahama said the government was investing in technology and infrastructure to modernise the intelligence system. He said the upgrade included the “deployment of 60,000 additional surveillance cameras across the length and breadth of our nation” and the installation of “500 new 4G and 5G communication sites”.

He said other elements of the security upgrade included an improved national security communication system that uses advanced analytics and artificial intelligence, the construction of a new data surveillance and cyber defence centre in Accra to serve as the headquarters of the National Signals Bureau, and the expansion of regional command centres.

President Mahama said the National Signals Bureau had grown into “a technologically agile and mission focused agency”. He said its work had supported recent police operations.

“Recently the police service have made breakthroughs in arresting armed robbers. There was a gang that attacked many rural banks. There are other murder cases. They have been able to crack these crimes and I must say that most of it is thanks to the National Signals Bureau,” he said.

The President warned the public about rising online scams, including fake adverts using his name. “I have been the victim of it many times. I am sure you see on your mobile phones that John Mahama has launched a free grant and so you should apply. And I am giving 5,000 Ghana cedis each and so you pay a small registration fee. Do not ever be caught in that trap. They are all scammers,” he said.

President Mahama said the National Signals Bureau now had the capacity to track offenders behind online fraud and hateful content.

“The anonymity of the new media gives people the opportunity to hide behind a faceless medium and put out hate speech and insulting behaviour. Happily, we have the capacity to track you down using your IP number and other tools that the National Signals Bureau has,” he said.

The Volta Regional Command Centre is the fourth to be opened after earlier ones in the Eastern Region. President Mahama said government would continue to build the centres until all 16 regions were covered.

He said the Volta Region would also host a National Signals Bureau Training Academy on a 100-acre land to train personnel from Ghana, ECOWAS countries and other African states.

“This training academy will be established here in the Volta Region. We will build Ghana’s next generation of cyber and signals. It will strengthen counter terrorism capabilities and position us as a regional training hub for ECOWAS, allied African nations and global partners,” he said.

President Mahama said the security upgrades would support the government’s 24-hour economy policy. “An economy that runs round the clock requires uninterrupted security, sophisticated surveillance and modern intelligence capacity,” he said.

He described the work of the National Signals Bureau as important to law enforcement operations. “Your work, often unseen but always impactful, forms the backbone of Ghana’s security,” he said.