STAR-GHANA FOUNDATION-NATIONAL SECURITY SENSITIZE CSOs
Ghana is fast consolidating the nation’s fragmented security policy initiatives into a single comprehensive and integrated policy framework in order to better confront the ever-changing security threats and risks facing the country in a regional and global context.
To aid this, STAR-Ghana Foundation and the Ministry of National Security jointly convened a sensitization session for CSOs on the country’s National Security Strategy in Accra.
H.E Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo launched the National Security Strategy on June 7th this year (2021).
Security experts have noted the complex, multi-sectoral and evolving nature of the threats to national security in our time. Ghana is surrounded by countries reeling from terrorists and extremists’ attacks cascading across the West-African Region. As a result, a national security response rooted in confronting political instability is no longer effective enough to respond to 21st century nature, scope and complexity of threats and risks.
To that effect, the strategy adopts a whole-of-government and whole-of- society approach to ensure constant monitoring of the threat situation, proactive prevention, mitigation and management of the threats, risks and security challenges to the national interests for stability, peaceful and socio-economic development.
The Minister for National Security, Albert Kan-Dapaah has noted that CSOs are critical actors in nation building. The demand by CSOs for transparency and accountability keeps government in check. "It would not be out of place for me to acknowledge you, the CSOs, as the fifth estate of the realm" he remarked. He has noted that 'the concept of National Security has evolved and demands continuous collaboration between the actors within Ghana’s Security architecture and the CSOs. For this reason, he believes that there is an urgent need to engage CSOs at the early phase of the public sensitization campaign on the National Security Strategy.
Executive Director of STAR-Ghana Foundation, Ibrahim-Tanko Amidu, observed that CSOs over the years have been working on peace and security at different levels and see the national security strategy as an opportunity for stronger coordination and collaboration between CSOs and government to promote peace and security and tool for an effective tool for CSOs to ensure accountable and transparent governance.
He also noted that STAR-Ghana Foundation under its 'Conflict, Security and Stability Fund (CSSF)' project has developed and validated a 'Roadmap for Sustaining Peace and Development in Northern Ghana' to serve as a framework for integrated actions on sustainable peace and development. The roadmap was a product of broad consultations at local, regional and national levels, with stakeholders reflecting on the drivers of conflict and insecurity in northern Ghana and how to catalyze and coordinate efforts to address the underlying causes of conflicts, insecurity and underdevelopment. The roadmap shares a lot of complementarities with the National Security Strategy.
The CSOs lauded the initiative and pledged their unflinching support in diverse ways. They made commitments to exploring ways of building partnerships for effective implementation of the strategy.
They however pointed to financial resource constraints, among other challenges, serving as barriers to their effective contribution to the implementation of the strategy.
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