Security institutions must be responsive to the needs of the public – Aning

Director, Faculty of Academic Affairs and Research, Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre, Professor Kwesi Aning has said that the challenge of security governance is about restoring the fundamental values of security institutions and ensuring their sustenance through truly autonomous watchdog processes.

In a democracy, as distinct from an autocracy, he said, governance should be ‘society-centred,’ including the private sector and the civil society.

These are critical for sustaining human, economic and social developmenr, Prof Aning added.

He said these in his public lecture on the Late Former President John Evans Atta Mills in Cape Coast on Wednesday June 29.

“Governance is the exercise of political, economic and administrative authority in managing diverse affairs in the interest of the governed. Good governance is participatory, transparent, dialogic, consensus-seeking and accountable.

“It is effective in making the best use of resources and promotes justice and ensures the rule of law. The government must ensure that public officials are held accountable for their actions through formulated and transparent processes. Also, citizens must be legally protected from arbitrary actions by authorities in security institutions.

“Security institutions must be responsive to the needs of the public to ensure their services are for the benefit of all citizens in an equitable manner. For good security governance, the implementation of policies and laws should be of considerable importance. Without effective implementation capability in the security institutions, the government’s efforts are perceived to be unsatisfactory,” he said.

He added “There is a need for strengthened collaboration between government, the security institutions, the private sector and civil society. In a democratic society like Ghana, governance should be society-centred and include the private sector and civil society. In many societies, the private sector promotes enterprise and generates jobs and income, whereas the civil society facilitates interactions by mobilizing groups to participate in economic, social and political activities.

“Having recognised the weaknesses and strengths of the government, constructive interaction between the government and its security institutions and the private sector, including civil society groups, will go a long to improve security governance in the country. Before I end, I have two humble appeals to the Governing Board of the JEA Mills Memorial Heritage Fund: first, please try to make a collection of Mills’ writings readily available by establishing a Presidential Collection.

“Protecting and using these works as the basis for knowledge generation and distribution will be the best endeavor for guarding his legacy against encroachment and debasement; and second, the struggle to appropriate what JEA Mills meant to Ghanaians and his legacy has already started through the deliberate misreading of and reinterpretation of his words.”