The Interior Ministry has softened its sweeping suspension of firearm licences, granting existing gun owners until the end of the year to comply with new requirements, including mandatory training, mental health assessments and drug tests.

Speaking on the floor of Parliament on Tuesday, July 7, the Interior Minister Muntaka Mubarak said that holders of already valid firearm licences will not be forced to restart the registration process immediately, despite the government’s earlier directive suspending all registered licences as part of a major overhaul of Ghana’s weapons control regime.

Instead, affected licence holders will be allowed to keep their permits until they expire, after which they must satisfy the new conditions before renewal.

The concession marks a significant clarification of the government’s June 23 directive, which announced the suspension of all registered firearm licences over concerns about loopholes in the licensing system, compliance breaches and the misuse of legally acquired weapons.

Explaining the decision, Mr Mubarak said the government did not want to worsen the burden on citizens by forcing immediate re-registration at a time many people were already facing hardship due to the flooding situation.

“Initially we sent a message and then we had this flood that has affected seven regions; we are rational human beings. People are going through a lot of challenges and trauma. Based on the data that we have, over a hundred thousand people are having these challenges. And if you look at the areas that they have, these are people that have gone through all this trauma. It should not be fair to add to their challenges the issue of registration.

So I think yesterday we said that the CID sent messages to all the legitimate holders; they should keep it until December 31," he said.

However, once those licences expire, "holders will be required to undergo mental health screening, drug testing and mandatory firearms training before they can renew them."

The minister said persons already in the process of applying for firearm licences, as well as all fresh applicants, will be required to go through the full new regime.

He added that the ministry is also considering whether former military officers and other retired security personnel should be exempt from parts of the mandatory training requirement, while still complying with other checks under the new system.