Resurrecting the Police Council in Ghana

First paragraph: Since 1982 Ghana has enjoyed its longest period of sustained political stability since it gained independence in 1957.1 While several periods of its democratic journey have been interrupted by military incursions (including attempted coups d’état, mutinies and the successful overthrow of democratically elected governments), post-1981 Ghana was transformed from being the ‘sick state of West Africa’, both economically and politically, to become a reference point for democratic practice and security sector governance processes. In a region beset by security challenges, several aspects of this ‘success story’ have yet to be documented. This paper addresses this lacuna concerning Ghana’s security sector reform processes and how they have influenced security sector governance dynamics, examining some of the changes in the fundamental structures of power and governance behind Ghana’s transformation. To this end, the paper analyses a particularly significant policy intervention: the re-establishment of the Police Council under the 1992 constitution and the contradictions in both how the institution has functioned over time and how it has contributed to the manner in which the Ghana Police Service (GPS) is governed. To appreciate the developments that have contributed to what this paper argues are first steps in a genuine case of deepening democratic control of the security sector, it is necessary to examinethe history of the incremental changes that brought it about.