A former Director of the Narcotics Control Board, Mr. Kofi Bentum Quantson, has bemoaned the lack of capacity, modern know-how personnel and infrastructure by the country's security agencies to control and monitor the porous borders. Mr Quantson said some personnel detailed for border control duties had failed to perform. He stated this at the opening of a three-day training programme for security personnel on border security management, small arms and light weapons control at the Elmina Beach Resort. Mr Quantson explained that it was to enhance their capacities that the programme was being organised for the security agencies. He reminded them of the need for border security management in ensuring state security and sovereignty and urged them to take advantage of the training to improve upon their performance. For his part, the Chairman of the Small Arms Commission, Lieutenant Colonel Seth Ohene-Asare (Rtd), stated that the commission had developed a comprehensive national action plan that would guide it and other stakeholders in the fight against the proliferation of illicit small arms and light weapons in the country. He said the plan, apart from stating clear objectives and timelines, would afford the commission and the stakeholders the opportunity to assess and measure progress, as well as the workable measures. He noted that one of the key components of the plan was border security management and small arms control. Lt Col Ohene-Asante said the principal objective of this area was to effectively control the cross-border movement of people and goods; and in that context to check the illicit trafficking of small arms, ammunition, explosives and related materials. Even though Article 45 of the ECOWAS Revised Treaty, 1993,S allowed the free movement of people and goods, he noted, it did not include small arms and light weapons as well as other related materials. He stated that the porous country's borders were the major routes for trafficking and that while the country enjoyed relative peace, there continued to be uncertain peace in its neighbouring countries, a situation that had forced the country to receive refugees. Col Ohene-Asante observed that in order to curb the menace associated with illicit influx of arms and light weapons, there had been extensive collaborations with other states, the ECOWAS Secretariat and the UN agencies which had resulted in an increase in initiatives focused on the entry points across the sub-region. The acting Executive Secretary of the Commission, Mr Jones Aplerh, said a baseline assessment of illicit small arms in Ghana in 2004 by the commission in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) estimated that there were at least 222,000 small arms in civilian hands in the country. Mr Aplerh said only 95,000 out of the number, representing 43.2 per cent, were registered, leaving a significant 56.8 per cent or 125,000 illicit guns in circulation. He said that 75,000, representing about 34 per cent of the guns in circulation as at 2004, were illegally manufactured locally in spite of outright ban on the local manufacture of small arms.