The Head of Public Affairs at the Ghana Immigration Service [GIS], ACOI Francis Palmdeti has assured the public that the security agencies alert to prevent any arms smuggling into the country with the introduction of new technologies. Speaking on Multi TV’s current affairs show, PM EXPRESS, Mr. Palmdeti said the GIS has installed CCTV cameras at the border on the eastern corridor which overlooks a vast area with the objective to facilitate border security, tighten their operations and thwart any criminal activities. He was responding to an alert raised by the West Africa Network for Peace building (WANEP)- Ghana, a fortnight ago about the possible smuggling of arms from the Ivorian Coast. “Ghana’s security apparatus cannot be written off”, he said, adding that “if this threat is real, I think we are equal to the task”. Francis Palmdeti said while the security agencies treat the alert as worthy of attention, they have no evidence or intelligence to back the assertion that large amounts of weapons have been smuggled into Ghana. “It is difficult to tell what kind of weapon is Ivorian weapon” he said. He commended the ECOWAS initiative of trying to keep a tight rein on the proliferation of small arms and assured that the security apparatus will do everything humanly possible to forestall any attempts to plunge the country into instability. Commenting on the arrest in the Brong Ahafo region of some 55 Ivorian combatants who were said to be wielding weapons, ACOI Palmdeti observed that they were only fleeing the conflict in Cote D’Ivoire and did so with their arms. He however noted that the 55 have since been disarmed and repatriated. Emmanuel Bombande, Executive Director of WANEP told PM EXPRESS host, Nii Arday Clegg that the days when things just happened without the benefit of hindsight are long gone, stressing that the country is now in a position to prevent and preempt any escalation of violence via the use of the Ghana Watch alert. “As long as this threat is pervasive, let us not lose our guard” he cautioned. The WANEP Boss also added that “whereas our security agencies are vigilant, we have qualitative data which allows us to make informed analysis that the Ivorian threat, following a violent transition, continues to be a menace for Cote d’Ivoire itself and for the sub-region. We cannot lose our guard and be surprised”. He said when “weapons circulate freely, then there will be cause to worry because then people can cause mayhem with it. People can facilitate their dissatisfaction through the gun”. He cited the case of the Fulani herdsmen who have now become a threat to the nation because they have access to guns. “Elections can escalate violence and care must be taken to forestall that”, he added. He thus tasked the security agencies to tighten border patrols at the western borders especially in the Brong Ahafo region because intelligence reveals the weapons are coming in through that end. He said it is difficult to tell the quantity of arms being smuggled in but the alert must be treated with all the seriousness it deserves. Mr. Bombande also observed that Ghana, with the politics of insults that has become very pervasive on the airwaves, is at the first stage of violence and warned that it can spiral out of control. ACOI Palmdeti observed however that security is a collective responsibility and tasked stakeholders to be each other’s keeper. He also gave the assurance that despite the logistics constraints the Immigration Service faces, it is doing all it can to ensure that Ghana’s borders are secure and safe. Adwoa Dansowaa Awuku/ Multi TV