Ghana's Act 1168 fails to resolve National Security Council Secretariat legal status

The newly passed Security and Intelligence Agencies Act, 2026 (Act 1168) has failed to address critical constitutional vulnerabilities within Ghana’s national security architecture. Despite receiving presidential assent on March 31, 2026, the legislation reportedly repeats previous legal omissions regarding the National Security Council Secretariat (NSCS).

Legal analysis suggests the NSCS remains an “unanchored institution” because it lacks explicit statutory creation or constitutional authorization under both the 1992 Constitution and the previous Security and Intelligence Agencies Act, 2020 (Act 1030). While the NSCS has grown into a powerful operational force, it continues to function through executive convention rather than a formal statutory mandate.

Critics note that Act 1168 provides no clarity on the Secretariat’s status; the term “Secretariat” does not appear within the Act’s 47 sections or its schedule. This failure to define the institution's operational boundaries or restrict the coordinator’s office to administrative duties leaves a significant gap in the country's apex security framework.