Dr. Bryan Acheampong, the Minister for Food and Agriculture, says Africa necessarily requires the restoration of peace in all war-torn and conflict-prone regions, in order to come to terms with its global counterparts.
Dr. Acheampong, who once occupied the position of Minister of State in charge of National Security, pointed out that most economies on the continent of Africa are struggling because they lack the existence of peace to thrive.
He argued that peacebuilding cannot be set aside or exchanged for anything in human development; hence, it must be prioritised and restored if broken, for the people of Africa to enjoy its benefits.
The minister was speaking at the 12th Joint Graduation Ceremony of the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC), which was organised under the theme: “Educating the Next Generation of Peacebuilders in Africa”, in Accra, yesterday.
Dr. Acheampong explained that investing in peace building research, institutional development and capacity building through partnerships would contribute greatly to addressing African challenges.
Although he acknowledged that funding for peacebuilding research remains largely controlled by a few international actors, mostly in the Global North, African scholars were charged with taking on the challenges of conducting research from the continent’s perspective.
This charge was grounded on the strength that peacebuilding is a collective goal of state and non-state actors. Therefore, African governments and the private sector must consider the need to invest in peacebuilding research, institutional development and capacity building.
According to him, since the year 2020, the West African region has witnessed six successful coups and other failed attempts, with the latest being in Sierra Leone.
He intimated that the relapse to militarism and the popular domestic support that characterised them raised fundamental questions about the brand of democracy and constitutionalism being practiced on the continent and the effectiveness of regional norms and principles as mechanisms for democratic consolidation in West Africa.
Dr. Acheampong said over the last two decades, the nature of conflicts has changed, necessitating African states, the United Nations Peacekeeping Operations, Africa Union Peace Support Operations and Regional Economic Communities/Regional Mechanisms to adapt.
Meanwhile, across Sub-Saharan Africa, countries were developing security and military capacities to deal with emerging and existing threats.
Speaking from his military intelligence training, the minister placed emphasis on domestication of the peace-building process as part of the approaches, as well as forming new partnerships that would enforce the Global South Cooperation in developing African research agenda.
He stated that the above could contribute to addressing the challenges that African scholars face.
Major General Richard Addo Gyane, Commandant of KAIPTC, charged the graduates to apply the knowledge that they have acquired from the Centre in every aspect of their lives, stressing: “Be critical thinkers who are not easily cowed into replacing right with wrong but insist on transparency and fair play with a huge dose of integrity.”
The joint graduation ceremony was chaired by Prof. Samuel KwakuBonsu, the Rector of the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA).
The ceremony saw 37 post-graduate students being awarded degrees in Master of Arts in Gender, Peace, and Security (MGPS), Master of Arts in Conflict, Peace and Security (MCPS), Executive Master of Arts in Conflict, Peace and Security (EMCPS), Weekend Master of Arts in Conflict, Peace and Security (WMCPS) and Weekend Master of Arts in Gender, Peace and Security (WMGPS).
