By Albert Futukpor
Tamale, Oct 25, GNA – Coginta Ghana, a leading organisation in conflict prevention and peacebuilding, has donated 20 motorbikes to its local partners to enhance rapid response in land and conflict management across vulnerable communities in the country.
The motorbikes, worth over one million Ghana Cedis, will be used by Regional Peace Councils and Customary Land Secretariats, who are at the forefront of land management and peacebuilding in the northern border regions of the country.
Reverend Father Clement Aapengnuo, Country Director, Coginta Ghana, speaking at a ceremony in Tamale to hand over the motorbikes to representatives of the beneficiary institutions, emphasised the importance of swift responses in preventing the escalation of conflicts.
He said “In many hotspots, access to transport remains a challenge particularly when urgent action is needed. These motorbikes will enable our partners to reach affected areas faster thus allowing for timely interventions and resolution of disputes before they spiral out of control.”
He said the gesture, therefore, sought to significantly reduce the response time in addressing land disputes and related conflicts that often escalated into larger crises if left unchecked.
This initiative formed part of Coginta Ghana’s ongoing efforts to strengthen national peace actors under the Preventing Violent Extremism and Supporting Peace in the Northern Border Regions of Ghana (PEACE PROTECT) project.
The PEACE PROTECT is an 18-month project, funded by the European Union, who has been a key partner in promoting sustainable peace in the northern border regions of the country.
Reverend Father Aapengnuo said the PEACE PROTECT project had also strengthened the National Peace Council’s early warning and prompt response mechanism by establishing and/or building capacity of its Local Peace Committees in 25 hotspots in the five northern border regions of the country.
He said Peace Centres would also be established at the hotspots to sustain peace efforts, adding “Coginta Ghana also supports the Ghana Police Service to implement its Community Policing Strategy in these conflict prone areas.”
He said to complement the efforts of the government, grante had been awarded for 20 civil society organisations to mainstream gender equality and social cohesion in preventing violent extremism and raise awareness on community policing to build trust between the Police and citizens in communities.
He said the project also supported the Accra Initiative to promote coordination and collaboration among participating nations to prevent violent extremism in the country
He assured beneficiary institutions that Coginta Ghana remained committed to fostering peaceful coexistence by supporting peace institutions in their bid to managing conflicts effectively.
Reverend Father Thaddeus Kuusah, Executive Secretary, Northern Regional Peace Council, expressed gratitude for the support and said “This donation will greatly enhance our ability to respond swiftly to conflict situations particularly in remote communities where reaching affected areas has always been a challenge. It’s a significant boost to our peacebuilding efforts.”
Mr Mohammed Adam Gariba, Registrar, Northern Regional House of Chiefs, said there were land disputes in communities, adding the motorbikes would help to get to the field to appreciate the issues on the ground.
GNA