Nana Kofi Adu II, General Secretary of Union of Private Security Employees of Ghana (UPSEG), said on Wednesday that the number of private security firms had reduced from 8,000 to 5,000 within six years.

He told the GNA in an interview that the reduction was due to Ministry of the Interior’s clamp down on security firms that refused to operate within the confines of the law: “this had brought sanity into their operations.” He said.

– Nana Kofi Adu called for closer collaboration between state institutions, especially State security agencies, and the private security firms to deal with crime, adding “we play a complementary role in protecting lives and properties”.

He expressed concern about the delay in renewing and registration of private security firms and appealed to the Labour Department of the Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations and the Interior Ministry to fast track the process.

Nana Kofi Adu said sometimes applications presented to the Labour Department stayed there for over six years.

The registration process starts with submission of a completed application form to the Ministry of the Interior after which the Minister authorizes the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI) to vet the company and its Directors.

A report on the company is forwarded to the National Security Secretariat for comments, based on which the Chief Director of the Ministry of the Interior authorities the granting of the license which is renewable annually.

Nana Kofi Adu said security firms faced challenges such as lack of resources, poor remuneration and delay in granting unionisation certificate to the Association by the Labour Department.

He said the only way to bring sanity into the operations of the private security firms was the unionisation of employees.

“But unfortunately, some private security firms continue to work against the unionisation of their staff. Some of the guards themselves were also not interested in getting unionized,” he said.

That, he said, had also contributed to the deplorable conditions of the security guards and their poor salaries.