Deepening national unity: Time for Peace Fund

About a week and a half ago, the Daily Graphic reported on the National Peace Council’s (NPC’s) initiatives to deepen national unity.

That was reported in the Wednesday, June 30, 2021 issue of the paper when government officials, the heads of the security agencies in the country, development partners and civil actors met in Ada in the Greater Accra Region at a dialogue for political parties dubbed: “Countering post-2020 election violence and building consensus for greater political tolerance in Ghana”.

It is heartening to know that the initiatives of the NPC are born out of its work during the 2020 general election and not out of a vacuum.

Indeed, the Chairman of the NPC, Rev. Dr Ernest Adu-Gyamfi, in his submission at the dialogue, said his outfit was working at strengthening mechanisms for inter- and intra-party dialogue to deepen trust and confidence in key state institutions responsible for elections.

The 2020 general election witnessed 32 violent incidents in five constituencies. In Techiman South and Ablekuma South, the violence resulted in fatalities.

That is why the effort by the NPC to strengthen mechanisms for inter- and intra-party dialogue to deepen trust and confidence in key election institutions is important.

The Daily Graphic believes that this effort needs the support of all. Conflict is a natural part of life, however, escalations into violence are not, and if such an eruption occurs, the security services will ensure ceasefire. After which the council manages conflicts so as to contain and limit further violent aggravation.

Indeed, peace is never enough, and humans develop in peace and the peaceful resolution of conflicts.

Although Ghana has made significant progress in achieving an appreciable level of good governance, compared to other countries in the sub-region and on the continent at large, there still remain a number of critical challenges that require urgent resolution to deepen and sustain the progress made.

Whether the conflicting groups are inter- or intra-ethnic groups, chiefs, political parties, institutions, government or another party, the root causes of Ghana’s internal conflicts need to be addressed.

The Daily Graphic also believes that the NPC must extend its efforts to ensure social cohesion and peace too.

Recent happenings at Ejura in the Ashanti Region and Wa in the Upper West Region show the need for peaceful communities and co-existence between communities and the police or soldiers on particular missions within areas.

The NPC, by its mandate, spelt out in its enabling law, the National Peace Council Act 2011 (Act 818), “to promote peace in the country”, is best suited to lead this effort of enhancing peace among citizens and the police/army.

Indeed, the police must be sensitised to the fact that they exist to serve the public, hence all antagonistic attitudes while serving them must be totally put away.

They exist because we do!

The military must also equally be sensitised to its role, which is nowhere near opening fire on retreating residents, as happened at Ejura, or molesting people, as occurred in Wa.

The NPC has a tall order to ensure peace and unity in Ghana. It will need support, logistics and immediate steps by the government to ensure that the establishment of the National Peace Fund, as detailed in Section 20 of Act 818, is not delayed any further.

It is becoming very obvious that we need to ensure that the council is well funded to carry out its mandate effectively, more especially at a time when we are witnessing pockets of violence around the country.

The Daily Graphic believes that the time is now for a dialogue on the establishment of such a fund to strengthen the NPC in its efforts. No more delay with this is permissible!