By Rosemary Wayo
Tamale, June 19, GNA – About 100 security officers at the command level in the Northern Region have begun a five-day course on Electoral Violence and Security (EVS) in Tamale.
The training, which seeks to ensure security during elections in West Africa, commenced on Monday June 17 and expected to end on Friday, June 21.
The EVS course is aimed at enhancing the capacity of law enforcement agencies to prevent, manage and deal with perceived electoral violence.
It is an initiative of the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC) as part of efforts to promote peace and security in West Africa, with support from the German Foreign Ministry.
The EVS training in Tamale is the third in the series, following earlier sessions held in Accra and Kumasi.
Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), Mr Osman Abdul Razak, Course Director at the KAIPTC, speaking at the opening of the training in Tamale, said the course was to equip security agencies on modules that included electoral trends, causes of violence as well as tactical methods of handling violence among other subjects.
He said the course would empower participants to have a collaborative relationship with political parties, adding it would make security personnel more community oriented in policing strategies.
He noted that there existed a routine practice of personnel transfers within security agencies worldwide highlighting the importance of reuniting these individuals to share their experiences and ideas, leveraging their institutional memory to enhance security operations.
He said the EVS training enabled participants to learn from the collective knowledge and strategies developed in various localities towards fostering an effective security framework before, during and after the elections.
Colonel Anorph Barnabas Akanbong, Director of Training at the KAIPTC, said the course would widen participants’ knowledge on the electoral cycle, conflict management and other areas pertaining to elections.
He said the course was an assurance that the security services were poised to undertake their constitutional mandate and urged members of the public to have confidence in the services.
He commended security personnel for their role in previous transitions of power saying, “The concrete security interventions put in place by agencies with the support of Ghanaians led to the consolidation of peace and security over the period.”
Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCOP), Mr Tuaruka Duuti, Northern Regional Commander, Ghana Police Service, said the course was necessary for personnel, who would supervise the general election as it would equip them with the management measures, they could observe to ensure a peaceful election.
He reiterated that the course would broaden their knowledge and skills to enable them to handle challenges that might confront them in their line of duty.
He said participants, at the end of the course, would be able to manage information and that the service would leverage social media to spread information on security issues.
GNA