This is one of the thematic areas of PLG which seeks to promote peaceful coexistence within the society. Peace does not only entails the absence of conflict. Peace is health. It is prosperity and it is freedom. When people are involved in the decision making processes they feel part of the society and they support interventions and activities that are aimed at improving their socio-economic well-being. Involving people in local governance helps in achieving the developmental agenda of government.
“Changing the face of politics through the Peace Manifesto”
“Changing the face of politics through the Peace Manifesto” was a project that sort to empower women and youth in the West Mamprusi and Yagaba districts to actively participate in the 2012 election with the goal of contributing towards free, fair and peaceful elections.
Since the return of Ghana to constitutional rule in 1993, election violence are basically perpetuated and championed by the youth through the instigation of unscrupulous politicians who want to satisfy their political ambitions at all cost. This has resulted in a number of violent conflicts in the 2004 and 2008 elections in many communities in the two districts. A number of youth became handicapped and properties destroyed as a result. Women on the other hand, have been relegated to the background in political activities due to ignorance, illiteracy and fear of intimidation and violence.
This situation contributed to voter apathy among women in the two districts resulting in low women representation in assembly and parliament. The objectives of this project were to: 1: Increase the participation of Women and Youth in promoting peace building initiatives in the 2012 election 2: Improve peaceful co-existence among political parties and other political actors in the two districts. The project was very significant for three main reasons. It contributes to peaceful election within the West mamprusi and Yagaba districts using innovative media technologies and approaches.
The project also contributed in increasing the participation of women and youth as voters and peace promoters. The project further ensured that majority of the electorate exercised their franchise in the 2012 election there by contributing to the legitimacy of office holders and the democratic process of the country. The project fits well into the agenda of government, political parties, the electoral commission, religious bodies and the regional and national security apparatus commitment and efforts in ensuring peaceful election and the ultimate improvement of the living conditions of Ghanaians which is the overall aim of Peace for Life Ghana (PLG).
Peacebuilding Activities 2021
The Kofi Anan Peacekeeping and Training Center (KAIPTC)offered PLG the opportunity to enhance its capacity in gender and Security by enrolling one of our staff in a certificate courses in Gender and Security. PLG also organized peace camps, public lectures and round-table discussions in collaboration with African Students for Interfaith Tolerance (ASFIT) to enhance socio-cultural connectivity, conflict and interpersonal communication and leadership skills as well as building social cohesion among citizens in the West Mamprusi Municipality.
THE SECURITY IN NORTHERN GHANA PROJECT (SING)
STAR-Ghana Foundation is a national center that advances active citizenship and philanthropy for sustainable, inclusive development. Within the context of increasing accountability and responsiveness of government, state actors, traditional authority and other governance institutions to Ghanaian citizens, STAR-Ghana Foundation aims to strengthen civil society and enable citizens to engage with the state to ensure accountable, transparent, and responsive governance at both national and local levels.
STAR-Ghana Foundation entered into a contract with The Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland acting through the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (“FCDO”) dated February 2021 under its Conflict Stability and Security Fund (CSSF) aimed at addressing the underlying causes of conflict and insecurity in Northern Ghana. The first phase of the project had the objective of developing a Roadmap for security, stability, and development in Northern Ghana to serve as a framework for integrated multi-stakeholder actions towards sustainable peace and development in Northern Ghana. The second phase facilitated the mainstreaming of strategies of the roadmap in the medium-term development plan and test community led approaches to addressing the drivers of conflicts and insecurity. The second phase also facilitated coordinated stakeholder actions to peace, security, and development in Ghana.
STAR Ghana Foundation partnered Peace for Life Ghana in the implementation of the Security in Northern Ghana (SING) Project in the west Mamprusi Municipal of the north-east region of Ghana, with the focus on promoting peaceful co-existence between and among different social groups in the municipality through trust building.
Key activities of the project includes:
• Project inception meetings in six communities.
• Sensitizing communities on peaceful co-existence using radio jingles.
• Formation and operationalization of Inter-religeous dialogue committee (IRDC) consisting 15 people.
• provide capacity building to IRDC members on religious tolerance, conflict resolution and prevention.
• Support IRDC to conduct sensitization (radio discussions).
• Training of 50 women and youth on conflict management and violent extremism.
• Support to Women and Youth to conduct radio sensitizations on peaceful co-existence and violent extremism.
• Organizing inter-ethnic fun games/cultural exchange to promote peace.
(SECURITY SERVICES AND COMMUNITY MEMBERS DIALOGUE FORUM)
Lessons and feedbacks harvested from our past and current projects reveal that there is very little formal interaction between citizens and the law enforcement agencies such as the police and immigration personnel. Such engagements are crucial in the wake of the growing insecurity in the municipality as a result of the rampant armed robbery attacks in the municipality. The one-day forum which was funded by COGINTA Ghana, sought to engage community leaders and the police as well as immigration and other key stakeholders to identify and discuss burning issues relating to human security and collaboratively propose solutions that will improve security personnel’s and community partnership in the fight against crime and violent extremism.
This activity was carried out in May,2023 at the west Mamprusi municipal assembly’s hall. Participants included Security service, public institutions, CSO’s, traditional rulers, Youth and Women groups, PWDs, religious leaders, hoteliers’ and the fulbe group. Also in attendance was the grants officer of COGINTA for North East. All the one hundred and fifty participants were given the platform to discuss and ask questions about the security issues confronting them in their respective communities. The grants officer gave an overview of the NORPREVSEC program after expectations of participants were documented. Submissions were made by key stakeholders such as the north east regional peace council, the police, the immigration, the west Mamprusi municipal ordinating director among others. There were panel discussions on security -community collaboration and safety of whistle blowers among others. Women group leaders expressed their ordeals in the hands of armed robbers and pleaded with the police to provide them free escort to and from the inter- community markets to do business.
