By Iddi Yire
Accra, May 08, GNA – Alhaji Muntaka Mohammed-Mubarak, the Minister for the Interior, has informed President John Dramani Mahama of the Ministry’s plan to build a permanent office facility for the National Peace Council, to be known as the “Peace House”.
This, he said was to serve as a legacy project during President Mahama’s tenure.
Alhaji Mohammed-Mubarak made the disclosure to the President during the swearing-in of a 13-Member reconstituted Governing Board of the National Peace Council at the Presidency in Accra.
The 13-Member reconstituted National Peace Council, which is under the Chairpersonship of Reverend Father Emmanuel Kofi Fianu, the Catholic Bishop of Ho Diocese, is made of 10 men and three women.
The National Peace Council is an independent statutory national peace institution established by the eight hundred and eighteenth (818) Act of the Parliament of the Republic of Ghana, named The National Peace Council Act, 2011.
The core function of the Council is to prevent, manage, and resolve conflict and to build sustainable peace.
Alhaji Mohammed-Mubarak said the National Peace Council, since its establishment, had been working hard to achieve its mandate particularly in sustaining the peace of the country.
He said consecutively, over the last decade except the year 2023, Ghana had been ranked the most peaceful country in West Africa.
Adding that Ghana though ranks the fourth most peaceful country in Africa, there was more room for improvement.
He said the National Peace Council significantly implemented strategic interventions including constituency and national level dialogues that resulted in political parties agreeing to using peaceful democratic means as mechanisms for addressing intra and inter-party conflicts. “Again, together with stakeholders and development partners the Council climaxed all activities in the 2024 to bring all 12 presidential candidates to sign the fourth presidential peace pact which has been recognised by the international community, as home-grown solution to addressing internal democratic tension,” he said.
The Minister said the result of such strategic intervention was acknowledged and reflected in post elections speeches during declaration of results and concession speeches.
He said evidence from the field shows that volatile constituencies such as Asutifi South and Asunafo North where there had always been post elections conflicts remain calm till the date after the elections. “We also acknowledge some disturbances in some Constituencies such as Damongo and Ablekuma North; the Council with the support of the Ministry will work with stakeholders to address any challenges going forward,” he said.
“The Council is making frantic efforts to bring stakeholders together to thoroughly review the 2024 elections and adopt strategies towards more effective cooperation and engagements among the political parties and governance stakeholders to build a future that is resilient to sustain the peace of the country.”
Alhaji Mohammed-Mubarak said in a significant recognition by the international community, the Global Action Against Mass Atrocity Crimes (GAAMAC) had proposed that Ghana Chairs the organization and host it as well.
This, he said means that in a few months to come, the headquarters of the GAAMAC would be moved from Switzerland to Ghana.
The Minister said the Council would be grateful to the President and the Government for full logistical, technical, and financial support, so that they could give the world a cause to continue the belief in the Ghanaian effectiveness in the international system.
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