Visions of Humanity, a peace research institute that focuses on the economic benefits of peace, compiled the index, which includes detailed sections on each region of the world.

While the index reports that peacefulness in sub-Saharan Africa deteriorated to its worst levels since 2008, Sierra Leone and Ghana were categorized as “more peaceful” than any other nations in west Africa.

[contextly_sidebar id=”hCQWpq74pPS8Zbspij6gihbqDpGHJybA”]It is ironic that peace has deteriorated to 2008 levels, the report states, because trends in safety and security discussions have grown since that year. The report blames “access to small arms, military expenditure and the deterioration of UN peacekeeping funding,” in the section of the report specifically about sub-Saharan Africa.

Notable improvements in all of Africa were political stability and fewer deaths from conflict.

Ethnic tensions in Ethiopia led it to suffer the greatest loss in peace ranking on the continent. The nation dropped from 118^th to 134^th due to violent demonstrations and a state of emergency called by the government in 2016.

Ghana is ranked as the 43^rd most peaceful nation in the world, out of 163 nations ranked. Sierra Leone was ranked as the 39^th.

The index takes each country’s perceptions of criminality, homicide, incarceration, access to weapons, violent crime, and police terror into account, along with several other considerations.

Each consideration is ranked on a scale of one to five, with five as the worst.  Ghana scored under three in most categories, with the exception of access to weapons, perceptions of criminality, and violent crime and demonstrations.

The top five most peaceful countries were Iceland, New Zealand, Portugal, Austria, and Denmark.

Click here for the full report

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By: Joy Notoma/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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According to him, development initiatives can only thrive in a peaceful environment. He lamented the situation where the assembly’s resources are channeled to maintaining law and order instead of being used to execute development projects.

“A lot of our resources and money coming in are used to pay for the services of the military and police in the district. As of now, we owe a lot concerning military and police visits to the district, so we don’t have money to even execute projects. In fact, we spend GHc 1,200.00 on the patrol team and this should not be the case. The little revenue we have, we are using it to maintain law and order,” he added.

Mr. Bonsu Snr. made the appeal on the sidelines of a district town hall meeting organized by MAP International, a Christian Non Governmental Organization implementing the Ghana Strengthening and Accountability Mechanisms Project (GSAM) in the Brong Ahafo Region.

The interaction was to afford community members the opportunity to demand accountability from contractors and the assembly as well as answer queries on projects being executed in their communities.

The programme is supported by IBIS-Ghana, Integrated Social development Centre (ISODEC), and CARE International, and sponsored by the United State Agency for International Development (USAID).

The DCE pledged to constitute a reconciliation committee to foster peace and unity in the area by bringing all political parties on board for the district’s sustainable development as well as champion effective decentralization processes.

This according to the DCE will help to build trust, good rapport and establish the actual cause of reprisal attacks that have been the source of mistrust between the two main political parties in the district.

He promised to turn the fortunes of the district from a conflict ridden area into a business center.

Earlier, the Country Team Leader, Gilbert Asante and Programmes Officer, Nana Ama Tiwa-Boateng of MAP International, took participants through the aims and objectives of the GSAM project, and encouraged them to fully participate in the exercise to promote sustainable development.

She encouraged them to put into use all the skills and knowledge acquired in their training as community monitors, preparation of score cards, monitoring of projects and interface sessions to demand accountability.

Violence in Asunafo South

Asunafo South is one of the hot spots in the country especially during election periods.

In 2016, some residents of the area vandalized the office of the Electoral Commission during a special exercise to register new voters.

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By: Mashoud Kombat/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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The annual dinner themed, Peace and Dialogue If tar, is organized during the month of Ramadan, to bring members of all religious affiliations together, to discuss matters of peace in the country and world in general, whilst observing the fast breaking.

[contextly_sidebar id=”7hmnBdrMLwjew19KHnH5cklcfrUEsYDc”]The Managing Director of TUDEC, Mr. Yusuf Temizkan in his welcome address, congratulated those present on the advent of the Holy month of Ramadan, which is a time of spiritual renewal and a reminder of one’s duty to his fellowman to serve one another, and lift up the less fortunate.

He went on to say that the “most basic doctrines of all religious beliefs are values bestowed upon us by God such as equality, freedom, dignity, peace and justice, and that by honoring these values, we affirm that whatever our faith, we are all really just one family.”

He explained that the peace award is meant to encourage individuals to use dialogue as a means of achieving peaceful co-existence. He added that “we need a constant reminder that together we can overcome ignorance and prejudice, conflict and injustice, not just by words but with deeds.”

He congratulated all the awardees for the hard work, and expressed the need for their commitment to peace to continue.He described the awardees as individuals in their respective communities who have the courage to reject discrimination and overcome adverse environments even though they are often tested by external circumstances.

He went on to say that, the awardees remain steadfast in their spirit and remain committed to the greater good.

The awardees for this year were the Most. Rev. Palmer –Buckle, the Archbishop of the Roman Catholic-Accra, Sheikh Dr. Osman Nuhu Sharubutu, who is the National Chief Imam and Major General Obed Boamah Akwa, Chief of Defense Staff of the Ghana Armed Forces.

Others were Sheikh Ibrahim Cudjoe Quaye, Chairman National Hajj Board, Mr. Francis Azuimah, Executive Secretary at the National Peace Council, and Dr. Vladimir Antwi-Danso- Director/Dean of Academic Affairs, Ghana Armed Forces Command & Staff College (GAFCSC).

The award recipients thanked management for acknowledging their contribution and promised to continue with the hard work in promoting peace and unity.
They emphasized the need for love and tolerance among all people of the world, and were happy that TUDEC is committed to creating platforms for dialogue on peace, love and tolerance.

On his part, the Most Rev. Palmer-Buckle, praised TUDEC for organizing such an event and stated that, such events must be organized to emphasize the relationship between Christians, Muslims and all other religious affiliations.

The dinner drew various people from all walks of life including current and former Members of Parliament and Ministers, clerics, educationists, businessmen and a host of others.

It was indeed a beautiful atmosphere as people gathered went round shaking hands and exchanging messages of peace and love.

About TUDEC

The Ghana-Turkey Cooperation and Development Association (TUDEC) is making significant strides in the fight against poverty, ignorance and disunity in Ghana.

TUDEC was established in 2011 to promote trade activities between Ghana and Turkey and also offer social and humanitarian services in Ghana.

Activities of TUDEC are to fight against ignorance, poverty and disunity based on the philosophy of a Turkish Muslim scholar and author, Fethullah Gullen.
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By: citifmonline.com/Ghana

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Alarmed by the myriad of chieftaincy, land, political and other related conflicts that have plagued Northern Ghana over the years, Chairman of the Northern Development Fund, Dr. Hakeem Wemah warned of dire consequences of electoral violence in the area after the December 7 polls.

The former Board Chairman of the University for Development Studies (UDS), made the call at a news conference in Tamale, where he officially launched the 2015 Northern Ghana Development Status Report codenamed, “Sustaining the Northern Ghana development agenda in Ghana’s public domain.”

[contextly_sidebar id=”n3MG5tBbgsnE3bXrdpIrOtckSAGYG7kV”]Dr. Hakeem Weimah pinpointed partisan politics as the root cause of conflicts in Northern Ghana though ethnicity, religion, language, land and chieftaincy cannot be overruled.

He said much was desired of government and development partners to address the nagging issues of poverty, unemployment, human right abuses, weak governance and inequality which make locals feel neglected at the decision making processes.

The Northern Development Forum Chairman reechoed the need for the youth of the three regions of the north to shun self seeking politicians who might clandestinely bribe them to foment trouble on elections day.

“The question of peace and stability can never be over-emphasized: it is the sine qua none of the major goals of the NDF and so we would like to call on the youth of the three regions of the north in particular to refuse to be goaded and bribed by unscrupulous, greedy and selfish politicians to cause mayhem.”

“It is most insulting and disrespectful and too callous for them to expect you to lay down your lives for their parochial interest. Yes, indeed you are brave and strong but for once let politicians and war mongers also be brave and strong and go out and fight their own fight,” he stressed.

Dr. Hakeem Weimah cautioned the media against announcing or calling election results ahead of the constitutionally mandated Electoral Commission’s responsibility.

He also challenged traditional rulers, religious and political leaders to guard against problems that could culminate into electoral disputes in their communities.

“To traditional, political, religious leaders and others who hold sway over large populations of this country, consider it is your failure and shame if any problem emanates from your constituency. You must therefore condemn violence and that you will not produce or defend anyone who falls foul of the law.”

“Let me be very candid with you that the general impression in the country about us is that we are a thoughtless, violent people. Aye the cradle of political, ethnic and occasioned religious upheavals. Any trouble in the country post-elections is predicted by all the pundits to likely come from the north,” he bemoaned.

The 2016 Development and Policy status report

According to Dr. Hakeem Weimah, the report was put together by the Northern Development Forum to satisfy concerned citizens growing demand that empirical evidence be provided them regarding the efforts being made to address Northern Ghana’s development agenda.

“Some of these demands are reaching an agitation proportion which has the potential to threaten the peace if a way is not found to give objective feedback and progress being made and suggestions for improving the development activities in the three Northern Regions of Ghana.”

“We also feel that government and development partners and political parties need objective analyses and avenues to dialogue on what needs improving the three regions in particular and the country in general,” he added.
`
Dr. Hakeem Weimah said the Northern Development Forum was satisfied with the National Development Planning Commission (NDPCs) 40 year .long term development plan.

He said the report recommended that the NDPC’s long term development plan should ensure equitable distribution of available resources to bridge the developmental disparities between southern and northern Ghana.

“The NDF’s expectation of this process is that of a transformational agenda that will eliminate the historical injustices and imbalances from our colonial experience. We want to see a future in which the prosperity and economic growth of our beloved country is mutually shared across all regions. It is a serious aberration that some parts of this country especially the north continues to be regarded and accepted as poor.”

“The seasonal outflow of able-bodied youth from rural areas and regions of the north to other areas in search of livelihoods and in very precarious conditions is an indictment to our nationhood.”

“We need a vision of national development that prioritizes and harnesses the full potentials of Northern Ghana and every other part of the country and such initiatives should not be tokenistic but all embracing and embedded in national development strategy,” the report highlighted.

Dr. Hakeem Weimah posited that the Northern Development Forum’s policy status report could guide policy makers in their attempt to implement the long term development plan.

“The report reflects on and proposes pragmatic considerations for policy making, national governance, resources allocation and a frame work to measure Ghana’s implementation of the new Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the Africa Union Agenda 2063 and the proposed forty year National Development Plan.”

He recalled the first NGOs report focused on agriculture, education, energy and reconciliation and peace building.

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By: Abdul Karim Naatogmah/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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The group’s President, Sarah Ajara Musah, in a statement copied Citifmonline.com, said the situation required that security agencies should up their game to ensure violence free elections on December 7.

[contextly_sidebar id=”VPneHBXUGKNJDMY7iBm7JSisCfPylakv”]She emphasized the need for all stakeholders in the political landscape to use dialogue as the panacea to settle their scores ahead of the polls.

Below is the statement

Our friends from the media, welcome and thank you for your response to our call. We have called you here today because we see you as partners and also know the power of the media in ensuring peaceful elections.

As some of you may be aware, we are a group of women traders in the Northern Ghana who are very much concerned about the peace of this country.

For us as women, the humiliating circumstances and the pain women, children, the aged and persons living with disabilities go through during times of war are not something we even wish for our enemies not to dream of experiencing it for any cause.

That is why we have strongly campaigned for peaceful elections this year.

We have done so through peace marches and presented our concerns to some of our respected chiefs to keep reminding politicians of the need to protect the prevailing peace and also advise the youth to avoid tendencies that can trigger violent conflicts.

Recent media reports on political clashes especially between the NPP and NDC supporters give us a cause to worry.

The clashes between supporters of the NPP and NDC in the Odododiodio Constituency which left scores of supporters injured and hospitalized, the unfortunate incident near Nima residence of the NPP Presidential candidate, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, the political conflict at Nakpayili and Tinangeria both communities in the Wulensi Constituency and the clash at Tampion in the Nanton Constituency, to mention but a few, are not good signs and such ugly incidences must be condemned.

We therefore call on the security agencies especially the Ghana Police Service to beef up security and increase their visibility in the communities from now till the political tension completely subsides after the elections.

They should also do their professional work without fear or favour to protect lives, properties and the peace.

We also entreat the security agencies to resource their intelligence operatives to enable them pick up signals that could help prevent the pockets of conflicts surfacing few days to the elections.

We also urge our religious leaders to include in their sermons, peace messages and stress the importance of dialogue, love, tolerance, forgiveness and abiding by the laws of the land, which are necessary ingredients for ensuring peace.

We are pleading with the pastors who are fond of predicting the outcome of the election to try and keep their visions to themselves and stop creating fear and panic among Ghanaians.

Enough of the predictions, that practice is heightening unnecessary political tension.

Friends from the media, we have observed that violence can be highly infectious and can spread across the whole country within a twinkle of an eye especially when it fueled by partisan politics and particularly in areas where there are already burning chieftaincy issues.

We can’t take the relative peace we have in the north and Ghana at large for granted.

The war torn countries in Africa have ever tasted peace that is why we can’t be complacent in our case.

Northern Women for Peace will soon knock at the doors of the various radio stations in Tamale to intensify our peace campaign as the Election Day draws closer.

We believe peace is a very necessary ingredient and a precondition for development in every nation. There is no point, therefore, allowing elections to destroy the very ingredient needed for the development of mother Ghana.

Thank you.

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By: Abdul Karim Naatogmah/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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President Mahama who arrived in Bolgatanga in the evening paid a courtesy call on the Bolgatanga Traditional Council and later addressed a mini-rally at the Jubilee Park.

Addressing the Bolga Traditional Council, Mr. Mahama commended the council for a peaceful resolution of the Bolgatanga chieftaincy disputes and called for peace before, during and after the elections.

He pledged his commitment towards a peaceful election devoid of violence and intimidation and appealed for their support to win the December polls.

“Indeed we want peace before, during and after the elections and I don’t see why people should fight or kill because of political power. You know my own disposition that am not a violent person, if there will be violence it’s not going to come from me but as a president I have a responsibility to ensure that there is peace in this country so that people can freely express their will. So we have a strategy for a peaceful election to ensure that all Ghanaians come out to vote. There will be security at all polling stations as well as patrol teams in case of eventualities.”

He added that, government has put in place strategies to deal with post elections related violence.

Recounting his achievements in the region, John Mahama said, his government will continue to work hard in creating job opportunities through revamping feasible defunct factories in the region.

Mr. Mahama will later today [Monday, 21st November] pay a courtesy call on the Bawku Naba, Abugrago Azoka II and address mini-rallies at Garu, Tempane, Binduri and Zebilla respectively.

He will also commission the Binduri District Assembly block, Town water system in Tempane and a warehouse in Garu.

Mr. Mahama on Tuesday will continue with the Western zone where he will pay courtesy call on the Naaga Naba, Sandema Nab, Chiana-Pio, and the Paga-pio.

He will later commission the Kanjarga Community day Senior High School in Builsa South and a Ghana Education Service office block in Paga.

He will also hold rallies in Sandema , Chiana and Navrongo respectively.

On day three, President Mahama will pay a courtesy call on the Tongo Rana, Sakote Nab, Nangodi Nab, and Zuarung Naba.

He will end his campaign tour with rallies in Nabdam, Bongo, Bolga and Tongo.

President Mahama who is also the National Democratic Congress’ (NDC) presidential candidate is seeking a second term in office.

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By: Frederick Awuni/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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He made the call when he met with the religious leaders and other relevant stakeholders in the district, in a bid to ensure peace, before, during and after the elections.

The Chairman of the Taskforce, who is also the District Police Commander, DSP Benjamin Aniah, explained to the Imams the need for them to educate their congregants on the importance of peace, especially in the Northern Region.

‘’ I urge you to include in your sermons a message of peace, the need for peace because if your neighbour’s beard is on fire, you need to fetch water near your own. We have seen what conflict is, we saw it jumping over dead rotten bodies to pick other people, it was serious. Conflict is nothing good for us, the little thing that happened in this community, we all saw how it went. So please, let us have this message sent deep in our hearts so that we would send it across to people out there, and they will embrace peace so that the periods before, during and after elections, we will have total  peace for our brothers to conduct the elections’’.

He also called on media to be circumspect in their reportage, and the youth not to allow themselves to be used by politicians to foment trouble.

The Military Detachment Commander of the Ghana Armed Forces in Bimbilla, S/Sgt Peter Azumah, shared experiences he has had in areas like Liberia and Sierra Leone, and the effects of war to the participants, and urged them to work hard at maintaining the country’s peace.

At the end of the programme, some of the religious leaders told Citi News what they will do to ensure that there is peace, before during and after the elections.

“We have learnt a lot about election procedures and processes, especially things that have to do for  peace, before, during and after elections; and as  such we are encouraged to go and disseminate the message to our congregants to know about the essence of peace and things that we must do to avoid conflicts in our communities.”

Another Imam said, “We assured the security taskforce that the message of peace is going to be part of sermons on Fridays to educate the congregation on the essence of peace because it is peace that can bring about development. It is peace that can allow people to go about their businesses and it is peace that can even allow people to worship, if there is no peace you cannot stand to worship and that is why the religion itself teaches us to be peaceful’’.

The Taskforce was formed in April this year in the District, to deal with election related issues which are likely to spark violence in the area. It has since met with representatives all the political parties, traditional authorities and other stakeholders.

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By: Mohammed Aminu M. Alabira/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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