Veep assures of Ghana's commitment to curb conflicts in Africa
The Vice-President, Mr Kwesi Bekoe Amissah-Arthur, says Ghana is committed to supporting other African countries to create conditions that foster stability on the continent.
Advertisement
He said although some African countries had witnessed the growth of democratic institutions, majority did not have those positive experiences, while some were at different stages of conflict.
That state of affairs, he said, should be a matter of concern for all and stressed that creating conditions of stability would remain an essential part of Ghana’s policy initiative.
The Vice-President said this in a speech read on his behalf by the Minister of Education, Prof. Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang, at the graduation of students who had completed the Master of Arts in
Conflict, Peace and Security (MCPS) and Master of Arts in Gender, Peace and Security (MGPS) programmes at the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC) in Accra Friday.
The event also climaxed the 10th anniversary celebration of the centre.
The 70 graduates, with varying backgrounds and experiences, were selected from six countries.
“It is heartwarming to learn that Ghanaian institutions such as the KAIPTC are involved in working not only to prevent potential conflicts but also resolve existing conflicts in the region,” the Vice-President said.
Mr Amissah-Arthur said the work of the centre contributed to the educational policy of the government, which was to expand access to quality education and develop a critical mass of people needed to spearhead the nation’s development.
On the current state of UN peacekeeping operations, he said eight out of 15 UN peacekeeping operations were in Africa, a situation he described as challenging.
He, therefore, urged the graduates to work hard to contribute to the reversal of the current situation for sustained peace on the continent.
“Africa can only come out of its present development quagmire when we find solutions to the unrest caused in parts of the continent by inequitable distribution of a nation’s wealth and social amenities,” he said.
He thanked the development partners for their continued support and the confidence they showed in the activities of the centre, adding that the government would continue to provide the necessary support for the centre’s activities.
The Minister of Gender, Children and Social Protection, Nana Oye Lithur, said there was the need to look at early warning systems and strengthen institutions to deal with them.
She also called for measures to secure the right personnel to be ambassadors of peace and security.
The Rector of the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA), Prof Franklyn Acheampong-Manu, asked the graduates to put the knowledge they had acquired to good use.
Story: Timothy Gobah & Mary Ampeh / Daily Graphic / Ghana