-The African Union (AU) is assisting Ghana’s National Peace Council (NPC) to set up a Situation Room to monitor and diffuse any elections-related violence that could arise during the upcoming general election in Ghana.
Beyond the December 7 general election, the Situation Room would be used to monitor and defuse violence in the country.
The Situation Room is equipped with the latest state of art technology; such as five desktop computers with its own UPS (uninterrupted power supply), two MacBooks, laptops, a screen, a television set for news monitoring, networking connection, softwares and Wi-Fi routers for the Situation Room.
In addition, the AU would be holding a two-day training programme for the Staff of the Peace Council in handling the equipment, conflict analysis, security, and communications.
Mr William Azumah Awinador-Kanyirige, Senior Advisor of the AU on Governance and Peacebuilding at the Office of the Commissioner, Department of Political Affairs, Peace and Security, led the AU Delegation to formally hand over equipment for the setting up of the Situation Room to Reverend Dr Ernest Adu-Gyamfi, the Chairman of the NPC in Accra.
Other Members of the AU Delegation included Colonel Sheku Tejan Sesay, AU Senior Political and Reporting Officer, Focal Point for African Policing Mechanism (AFRIPOL), Desk Officer, Ghana, and Madam Mayah Ngallah, AU Senior Political Officer/Regional Desk Officer, Directorate Management.
Receiving the items, Rev Dr Ernest Adu-Gyamfi, the Chairman of the NPC expressed gratitude to the AU for the privilege and the opportunity to receive the support, not only in terms of equipment, but also to build the capacity of the Council.
“Sometimes it’s interesting when you get up in the morning and the media calls, that this has happened here, what is the Peace Council saying? You’ve not heard the story, you don’t know the source, you don’t know where it is coming from, and yet they expect you to respond,” he stated.
“But I believe that with the support that AU is bringing to us now, it will provide us with the avenue for early warning information, for us to know what is happening around the country, and to put the Council in readiness to work.”
Rev Dr Adu-Gyamfi reiterated that the Situation Room was not basically for elections, but it’s for the full work of the National Peace Council to collect data every day and continue to monitor the country each day as activities were being held, monitor what was going on in the news and on television, and also from their regional and district offices, as to what was happening on the ground to assist the work in terms of the things that they do.
Mr William Azumah Awinador-Kanyirige, Senior of the AU on Governance and Peacebuilding at the Office of the Commissioner, Department of Political Affairs, Peace, and Security, on the behalf of the Mr Bankole Adeoye, Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security, African Union Commission, commended the NPC for its efforts in promoting peace and security in Ghana.
He acknowledged the crucial role of the NPC and other African peace infrastructures in maintaining peace, rule of law, and development.
He noted that National Peace Infrastructures were vital for Africa’s peace, justice, and development, adding that AU Member States relied on national security infrastructures to address domestic and cross-border insecurity.
“The NPC is a key pillar in Ghana’s National Security Architecture, providing mediation, prevention, and diplomatic efforts essential for effective diversity management and governance,” he said.
Mr Awinador-Kanyirige reiterated the AU’s commitment to support member states in building resilient institutions through shared norms and values for sustainable development and leveraging early warning systems and smart early responses.
Madam Mayah Ngallah, AU Senior Political Officer/Regional Desk Officer, Directorate Management, said the establishment of the Situation Room was to enable the Peace Council to undertake early warning monitoring of events across the various districts and regions of the country to facilitate timely interventions.
In attendance at the event were Mr George Amoh, Executive Secretary of the NPC and
Mrs Magdalene Kannie, a Board Member of the NPC.
GNA