Criminologist and security analyst Dr Emmanuel Sowatey has called for reforms in Ghana’s military budgeting process, stronger parliamentary oversight and improved public understanding of the security sector to address corruption risks within the defence sector.
Speaking on Joy FM’s Super Morning Show during the Corruption Watch segment on Wednesday, July 22, Dr Sowatey said tackling the sector’s challenges requires more than addressing individual cases, describing the concerns as part of broader systemic issues.
His comments follow discussions on a report that identified Ghana’s defence sector as being at high risk of corruption.
Responding to questions on what steps government should take, Dr Sowatey said improving value for money in military spending requires attention to both expenditure and the budgeting process.
“I’ll go outside the report to show that, one, the problem is systemic. It’s referring to the issue of how to best have value for money in military expenditure. It’s not only the expenditure. It’s also the budgeting process,” he said.
He urged policymakers to make the military budgeting process more consistent with democratic governance principles, while ensuring a balance between national security considerations and public accountability.
“The first thing I would say is that let’s make the military budgeting process more reflective of our democratic governance. The line between national security and transparency can be something very tricky, but it can always be dealt with,” he stated.
Dr Sowatey also called for increased security sector literacy among citizens, journalists and other stakeholders, arguing that a better understanding of the sector would enable more informed discussions about defence spending.
According to him, greater public knowledge would help people ask relevant questions about how resources are allocated and whether defence expenditure aligns with national security policies.
“We need security sector literacy, because that will then let you ask the right questions about how resources are being used, and how those resources further the spirit and the letter of the defence policy and then the security policy,” he added.
The security analyst further encouraged young people to take a greater interest in security sector issues, noting that despite their growing influence through social media and technology, many young people remain absent from major national decision-making discussions.
He suggested that Ghana’s history of military coups may have contributed to a culture of self-censorship and reluctance among some citizens to question security-related decisions.
“The youth, when you combine the youth, social media, AI, generally, the youth are usually outside the boardroom of such major decision-making process. Maybe because of our history of coup d’etat, this feature of self-censorship and fear to ask questions,” he said.
Dr Sowatey encouraged young Ghanaians to develop stronger knowledge of security governance and engage more actively in discussions about military budgets and expenditure.
He also called on Parliament, particularly the relevant Select Committee responsible for defence matters, to strengthen its oversight role and consistently demand accountability from the security sector.
He criticised the practice where lawmakers tend to ask tougher questions when they are in opposition but become less critical when they assume government.
Referencing a passage from former First Lady Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings’ book, It Takes a Woman: Life Shaped by Heritage, Leadership and the Woman Who Defined It, Dr Sowatey stressed the need for political leaders to place Ghana’s national interest above partisan considerations.
“We should get to a place where what Nana Konadu is saying comes so strongly to us, that we don’t only have those robust and genuine questions when you’re in opposition, but you also ask them when you’re in government. When we put Ghana’s security ahead of partisan interest, that is another way for Parliament to be moving ahead in the right direction,” he concluded.
