Private security group cries for regulator

…as over 1,000 firms are registered

The Association of Private Security Organisations of Ghana (ASPOG) has called for the speedy passage of a comprehensive law that will adequately regulate operations of private security firms, as the absence of such a law is dangerous for national security and a disincentive to investments in the sector.

The Association said passage of the law will ensure that private security firms conform to international best standards and best practices.    

“We think that there should be a modicum of sanity in the business, but that cannot happen if we do not have a policy framework and a regulator,” said Captain Anthony Kwesi Acquah (rtd.), Chairman of the Association of Private Security Organisations of Ghana (ASPOG), at a ‘Business Advocate’ programme organised in collaboration with the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) and supported by DANIDA, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and European Union (EU).  It was funded by the Business Sector Advocacy Challenge (BUSAC) Fund.

To help reduce the bureaucracies and make private security operations appealing to investors, the BUSAC in 2015 joined hands with the ASPOG to increase pressure on government and get it to come out with a policy for the sector.

Speaking on the topic ‘Streamlining Private Security into the National Security Policy Framework’, during the business advocate programme in Accra that brought together discussants made up of representatives from industry stakeholders and policymakers, Cap. Acquah said a viable private security sector that is well-regulated with a defined scope of service will help reduce bureaucracy in the registration and renewal of licencing processes.

“The situation is affecting our investment and business interest, as well as eroding investor confidence in the sector and adding to the unemployment woes of Ghana,” Captain (rtd.) Acquah said.

Since 2010 the ASPOG has been pushing for a regulatory framework, which it says will help make the business appealing to investors and their customers.

That push has yielded less results, with the Ministry of Interior still relying on a footnote in the Police Service Act, 1970 (Act 350), for the registration and regulation of private security firms in Ghana.

This has made the registration of such firms very bureaucratic and cumbersome, a challenge that dampens investments in the sector.

Ghana has not taken a formal decision to address the challenges presented by private security industry. The country currently has over 1,000 registered private security companies. 

This is simply an indication that although there may be a strong traditional confidence in the state’s security apparatus, there has been growing demand for the services of private security to relieve some of state security’s burden from having to deal with some of the minor and less ‘macho’ aspects of security.

The current trend of the private security industry helping state security apparatus to maximise security is not peculiar to Ghana alone. 

Indeed, private security working side by side with state security apparatus has gained prominence globally.  

However, it is also widely acknowledged that such arrangements can sometimes pose a danger if not well-regulated.  For example, it could provide breeding grounds for the formation of mercenary groups which pose a danger to law and order and national stability, especially in any country with a fragile security climate.  

Not even our continental body, the African Union, has taken a formal decision on addressing the challenges posed by the private security industry on the continent, and the benefits they could bring to bear on overall national security. The situation in Ghana is no different from what pertains in many African countries.

Although ASPOG has over the years chalked some gains, its operations have been constrained by the voluntary nature of membership as out of about 1,053 companies licensed to provide private security services in the country, only 60 of them belong to the group.

“Those that are not members are on their own and they do whatever they like. This is where the challenge is and it should be of concern to us because this is an industry whose operations border on national security too,” Cap. Acquah said.

Over the years, Cap Acquah explained that security agencies in the country have relied on members of ASPOG in the fight against crime, yet fail to push for a regulatory framework that formalises their operations -- the worst culprit, he confirmed, being the Ministry of Interior which licences the companies.

Currently, a licence to operate a security company costs GH¢5,000 -- which is subject to annual renewal at a cost of GH¢2,000.

Beyond taking money from the members, the ministry and its agencies does virtually nothing to support their operations -- forcing members to fend for themselves.

For an industry that employs over 20,000 people nationwide and contributes substantially to the internally generated funds of the ministry, it is difficult to understand why the country would be reluctant in regulating its activities.

But while this happens, the country has to realise that any delay in regulating the operations of private security service providers has dire consequences for national security and employment creation.

A more viable private security sector that is well-regulated with a defined scope of service is what the country should be pushing for. If that is achieved, it will help minimize declining investor interest in the business for companies to expand and employ more people.

Dr. Evans Dzikum, Director of Finance and Administration at the Ministry of Interior said: “We need to re-educate some of the companies. 

“We have started creating awareness through the workshops. They must also deepen their relationship with the ministry. The ministry is embarking on an exercise to get rid of the bad nuts.”

He said some of the companies have registered and never operated, while others collapsed along the way. “During the exercise we realised that others were operating without a licence,” he confirmed.