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RECKLESS ABUSE of the Ghana Coat of Arms has caught the attention of the Member of Parliament (MP) for Amenfi East, Joseph Boahen Aidoo, and his colleagues in the legislature. They are thus calling on National Security to take immediate action to arrest the situation. Making a statement on the floor of Parliament yesterday, Mr. Aidoo decried the embossment of the national coat of arms on all manner of vehicles, motorbikes and customized goods and pointed out that not only was the practice illegal, but also had the tendency to �denigrate the importance of this national emblem�. The state security and law enforcement agencies, he reiterated, must sit up and stop the illegality forthwith. �It is imperative to note that the Ghana Coat of Arms is a symbol of precious official and executive value. Nothing, therefore, should be done to cheapen its importance as a special national heraldic device,� Mr. Aidoo stressed. To safeguard the sanctity of the country�s emblems, the law-maker pointed out that the Flag and Arms Protection Act 1959 (No. 61) made it an offence to use the design of the Ghana flag or coat of arms without the license of the minister, except on a public holiday or on a day proclaimed as a festive occasion. According to Mr. Aidoo� view, this law may have to be re-examined because �the Ghana national anthem entreats us, as Ghanaians, to raise the flag of Ghana high wherever we may be�, albeit the people have to be circumspect in the use of the Ghana Flag. The Ghana Coat of Arms symbolizes the national identity and signifies government�s official sanction. As a symbol of official authority, it is found on all government official letter heads, official documents such as the 1992 constitution, the Ghana passport, the national currencies, the uniforms of the police and other service personnel as well as places like the seat of government, the courts, parliament of Ghana and Ghana missions abroad. The restrictive use of the national emblem, Mr. Aidoo noted, found expression in �our state protocol� and that hoisting the Ghana flag or the coat of arms on a vehicle in the country was the preserve of the sitting president. He said except for the sitting President, and except with the express permission of the minister, embossing the coat of arms on vehicles of whatever kind, be it rickety vehicles, commercial cars, cargo trucks and motorbikes, as stickers, was illegal and an abuse of state protocol. He disclosed that unfortunately, some district chief executives also had the Ghana Coat of Arms embossed on the windscreens of their official vehicles. According to Mr. Aidoo, the Ghana Coat of Arms was being sold on the internet for US$3.95, adding that on the same network, T-shirts and other customized items embossed with the Ghana emblem were being advertised for various prices up to US$36 a piece. The former Western regional minister lamented that it was unfair to Mr. Amon Kotei, designer of the coat of arms, �for this piracy to go on in anyway, anywhere, when the state by law has assumed exclusive patency over his design�. Other legislators who condemned the abuse of the national emblem were Papa Owusu-Ankomah, MP for Sekondi; Stephen K. Balado Manu, MP for Ahafo Ano South and Haruna Iddrisu, MP for Tamale South who doubles as the Minister for Communications. According to Papa Owusu-Ankomah, the Ghana Coat of Arms �is the embodiment of the nation and people should not be using it carelessly�. Haruna Iddrisu said although Ghanaians would want to champion their national identity through the use of emblems, it should not be done illegally, giving assurance that government would take the appropriate steps to regulate the use of the coat of arms.