The Minority in Parliament has criticised the proposed Security and Intelligence Agencies Bill, 2025, describing it as overly centralising power in the Presidency and lacking adequate safeguards.
In a press statement issued on Wednesday, February 18, the Minority Leader, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, said that although the Minority supports reforms to Ghana’s national security architecture, the current draft of the Bill is “deeply flawed”.
“Let me be clear. The Minority Caucus supports the need to reform Ghana’s national security architecture. Our country requires a modern, efficient and professional intelligence system that protects citizens and safeguards our constitutional order,” he stated.
However, he warned that the Bill concentrates excessive appointing authority in the hands of the President, including the power to appoint the National Security Coordinator and Directors-General of intelligence agencies without parliamentary vetting.
“These offices control agencies with coercive powers and access to sensitive national data. It is unacceptable that they operate without legislative scrutiny,” he argued.
Mr Afenyo-Markin further raised concerns about what he described as weak oversight mechanisms dominated by the Executive.
According to him, the National Security Council, chaired by the President, effectively becomes the governing body of the intelligence agencies, amounting to “self-oversight.”
He also criticised the absence of an independent inspector-style body with proactive investigative powers.
“For these reasons, we cannot support the Bill in its present form,” he declared, urging Parliament to insert independent oversight mechanisms to ensure that national security operations remain accountable and constitutionally grounded.