Akosombo, Nov. 17, GNA - Mr Kwasi Agyeman-Manu, the Deputy Minister of Interior, has said no firm or individual had been licensed to manufacture firearms.

He said manufacturers of weapons that had found their way into wrong hands were operating illegally and called on all peace loving people to report such people to the appropriate authorities for action. "The proliferation of illicit small arms in the country is a threat to security, human rights and development. Efforts need to be made to arrest those engaged in the manufacturing of such illegal weapons."

Speaking at an awareness creation campaign on proliferation of illicit weapons for students in senior secondary schools in the Asuogyaman District at Akosombo on Wednesday, Mr Agyeman-Menu said though weapons were needed for protection and security it had to be in the possession of trained people who could use them efficiently and appropriately.

The Deputy Minister, who is also the Chairman of the National Commission on Small Arms (GNACSA), said if the proliferation of small arms in the system was not controlled there was the tendency of little misunderstandings exploding into crisis.

He told the students that the 1979 and 1981 coups could have turned the country to Liberia or any of the war torn countries if there were such large amount of small arms illegally in the possession of people as it is today.

Mr Agyeman-Manu said the Kokomba/Nanumba war, the Peki/Tsito conflict and the Nkonya/Alavanyo wars were ample evidence that there were small arms illegally acquired and possessed by people and such arms need to be controlled.

He expressed regret that some students who needed to concentrate on their studies had been reported to be sending guns to school and called on parents who had licensed guns to keep them out of the reach of their children.

"The peace and tranquillity in the country can be jeopardized if small arms continue to be manufactured and acquired illegally." Mr Ntow Bediako, the Asuogyaman District Chief Executive, said the involvement of the youth of the area in the use of small arms was a matter of concern that every peace loving Ghanaian should be bothered about.

He referred to a recent event in which two students of a second cycle institution attacked and killed their colleague and stole his belongings and said this was the result of the use of illegal small arms and expressed the need for such situations to be prevented. The Queenmother of the Akwamu Traditional Area, Nana Afrakuma, advised parents and all adults who possessed guns to handle them in a secured manner to prevent any other person from having access to it.