Oversight of Ghana's Intelligence Community

What is it about?

Since Ghana's transition to democratic rule in 1992, the Intelligence Agencies have been placed under civilian control in the spirit of good democratic governance and accountability as part of broader security sector reforms. This paper examines how effective the oversight mechanisms have been.

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Why is it important?

Recent efforts by the intelligence community have focused on expanding the powers of the agencies to deal with the complex dimension of contemporary threats. However, these efforts have equally raised concerns about protection of human rights, and accountability of the agencies. The research finds that though the current mechanisms in Ghana provides for some level of democratic control of the agencies, the specific oversight mechanisms are inadequate in terms of design and structure. The mechanism have been ineffective due to the country's unique socio-political context. Attitude of politicians and legislators have not given the needed impetus to drive oversight. Also, the over-hyped notion of secrecy in the name of national security and the absence of specific laws to afford access to information have undermined efforts by the articulate civil society to foster meaningful discussion of security issues. The absence of a national security policy largely limits both the politial and professional direction of the agencies whereas the lack of parliamentary committee with jurisdiction over the intelligence agencies further impedes oversight. To rectify these gapping holes would require a new reform agenda that would encompass establishing new structures and recalibrating existing mechanisms to conform with international best practices in an effort to solidify the country's fledgling democracy.

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