Security expert, Dr Kwesi Aning said the time has come for Ghanaians to cede part of their freedom to the State for protection.
He said it is important for Ghanaians to look beyond the erosion of part of their freedom to the security of the nation and their children in the future.
According to him, the concern of many Ghanaians about the Interception of Postal Packets and Telecommunication Messages Bill also known as the ‘Spy bill’, has to do with their mistrust in the information gathering adding it is about time the conversation is reopened for Ghanaians to be reassured.
He said it is important for the country to put in place a set of institutional mechanisms and processes that allow Ghanaians to protect one another and have confidence in the system.
The Interception of Postal Packets and Telecommunication Messages Bill when passed by Parliament will give the government the power to listen in, tap, and record conversations of private individuals.
The Ministry of Interior said the bill is expected to help the government fight crime, and suppress organized crime in the areas of narcotic trafficking, identity theft, money laundering, and terrorism as well as the overall protection of national security.
Many private Ghanaians and civil societies including Private legal practitioner and host of Joy FM/Multitv news analysis NEWSFILE, Samson Lardy Ayenini and the Ghana Bar Association (GBA) have petitioned Parliament to effect major changes in the bill before it is passed.
They argued the bill has some major implications for the rights, freedoms and liberties of Ghanaians, especially the right to privacy as guaranteed by the 1992 Constitution of the country.
Speaking to JOYNEWS, Dr Aning said: “The world has changed and we live in an extremely dangerous environment and it is important that we understand security as a collaborative trusting shared venture.”
He said the Spy bill is just one of the several instruments initiated to deal with issues of insecurity adding “The most important instrument is that we should put round pegs in round holes and square pegs in square holes.”
He described the Intelligent and Security Services Act 526, which gives birth to all the security operatives in the country as a failure.
According to him, many of the persons appointed to chair the various security councils were not selected based on their technical expertise but on the ground of their uniform.
Member of Parliament (MP) for Ablekuma South, Fritz Baffour said Parliament is currently sifting through the memoranda submitted by private Ghanaians and some civil societies adding that there are a lot of objections to some of them.
