Accra, July 12, GNA - A bill is before Parliament to include terrorism as an offence in the Criminal Code to strengthen national security on the prevention of terrorist attack. The bill, which is expected to receive Presidential assent by the end of July, would add up to other international conventions ratified by Ghana to check the menace.

Mr H.A.L. Mbiah, Chief Director for the Ministry for National Security, made this known at a seminar in Accra for the Drafting of a National Anti-Money Laundering/Combating Terrorist Fighting Strategy for ECOWAS English-speaking countries.

The seminar attended by security experts from The Gambia, Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria and Sierra Leone, Kenya and Mauritius converged in Accra to brainstorm on ways to tighten the screw on regional crime on money laundering and terrorism.

Mr Mbiah said African countries should not see terrorism as not concerning them since nobody ever anticipated that Tanzania and Kenya would have been attacked.

He said any attack targeted on a foreign mission in any African state would definitely have adverse effects on the state. The Chief Director mentioned the International Convention for Suppression of Financing of Terrorism, International Convention for the Suppression of Terrorism Bombing and the OAU Convention on the Prevention and Combating of Terrorism as some interventions to maximise national security.

Mr Mbiah said the bill, which would soon go through its second reading, would clearly spell out the country's provisions on what constituted terrorism offences and the punishment for people who either engaged in or financed it.

On anti-money laundering, Mr Mbiah noted that Ghana was on course to establish a Financial Intelligence Unit and review national laws to track down activities of those who engaged in the fraud. He said the Unit which is expected to be established by the end of the year would also facilitate the exchange of intelligence with other countries to check the circulation of money from illegal sources often used to promote crime and terrorist activities.

Ms. Delphine Schantz, Facilitator and Representative of the UN Office for Drugs and Crime (UNDOC), said the seminar provided the platform for participants to adopt comprehensive documents for effective monitoring of anti-money laundering and terrorism in their countries. She said anti-money laundering systems were crucial to eliminate crime often financed from such illegal sources.

The participants proposed the establishment of a National Coordinating Committee within member countries to coordinate activities related to the two issues.

The seminar was sponsored by UNDOC, Commonwealth Secretariat, Ministry of National Security and the Inter-governmental Action Group against Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing in West Africa (GIABA) based in Dakar, Senegal. 12 July 07