The Minister for the Interior, Muntaka Mohammed-Mubarak, has disclosed that the government has slowed down the issuance of gun licences to civilians as part of efforts to strengthen regulation of firearms and improve national security oversight.

The minister explained that the decision followed concerns about how easily licences had previously been granted under the existing system.

According to him, when he assumed office at the Interior Ministry, he discovered that the licensing process for firearms was relatively straightforward, relying mainly on written applications to the minister and background checks.

“I came to the ministry to realise that registration for guns was simple. You just write to the minister and then they do background check and then they grant it,” he said.

He added that the current administration has since decided to slow the approval process while reforms are introduced to ensure stricter control over gun ownership.

“Now I have slowed down the granting of those licences,” he stated.

The minister said the government is also moving to regulate the importation and sale of firearms to prevent individuals from freely importing and selling guns on the open market.

“We are moving on to streamline the importers to ensure people just don’t import and sell in the open market,” he said.

According to him, the ministry inherited a situation in which firearms were sometimes sold openly in ways that contravened existing laws.

He cited discoveries made following the fire outbreak at the Kejetia Market in Kumasi as an example.

“We came to inherit the situation where, like you saw the fire in Kejetia, there were shops who were selling guns in the open market, which is against the laws,” he explained.

To address these challenges, the Interior Minister said new measures are being introduced to ensure firearms are stored in approved facilities and their distribution properly monitored by the police.

According to him, licensed firearms dealers will be required to keep weapons in secure storage facilities—commonly referred to as magazines—where law enforcement authorities can maintain oversight.

“Because we need to put them in magazines where the police are aware. Even if you are going to sell it, we need to know who you are selling it to,” he said.

Speaking on Hot Issues on TV3 Ghana on Sunday, 15 March 2026, he stressed that the aim is to ensure that every firearm in civilian hands can be traced and monitored by security agencies.

A key component of the reforms, the minister said, is the planned digitalisation of Ghana’s firearms registration system.

Currently, firearm registration records are maintained largely through manual documentation, a situation the minister described as inefficient and difficult to manage.

“Now we are moving on to digitalise that and that is one of the things that we are trying to do to make sure that we know every gun that every person is holding,” he stated.

Under Ghanaian law, firearm licences must be renewed annually regardless of when they were initially issued.

“Because the law is such that you are supposed to renew it every year. Even if you get the licence in November or December and 31st December comes, it expires,” he explained.

However, the reliance on manual records has made it challenging for authorities to keep accurate data on gun ownership across the country.

“So because the registration is manual it becomes difficult for you sometimes when you want to ask them what is the data then they are running helter-skelter opening files to tell you that it is this number. Later they come and tell you we didn’t count well,” he said.

The minister emphasised that the combination of stricter licensing procedures, regulation of gun importers and the introduction of a digital registration system is intended to strengthen accountability in the management of firearms.

He noted that the reforms will help ensure that authorities have reliable information on the number of firearms in circulation and who possesses them, a move he believes will enhance national security and reduce the risk of weapons being misused.