The West African Network for Peace Building (WANEP) says the government must as a matter of urgency adapt strategies to reclaim the first position in the Global Peace Index rankings.
In the view of WANEP, Ghana’s drop in the latest Global Peace Index is as a result of recent chieftaincy conflicts in the country.
Ghana lost its position as the most peaceful country in West Africa to Sierra Leone and also slipped as the second most peaceful country in Africa to 4th position.
Executive Director for WANEP, Chuku Emeka Eze says government must adapt strategies to reclaim the first position.
“Issues around press freedom, issues around communal clashes, and most importantly, the surroundings of Ghana by countries in turmoil are all factors for the ranking. The crime rate in urban centres is also a key indicator used in determining the global peace index.”
While commenting on the latest Global Peace Index, the Chairman of the Governing Board of the National Peace Council (NPC) Rev Dr. Ernest Adu-Gyamfi said the development calls for more work as the decline was not too good for Ghana.
Rev Dr. Adu-Gyamfi attributed the decline to some of the happenings in Ghana such as armed robbery incidents, highway robberies as well as some attacks on journalists, political violence, and the land guard menace and other perceptions, which all goes to inform the rating and compilation of the results.
He said as a country there was the need to do the best we can to avoid some of these happenings.
He stressed the need to enhance trust and confidence between the security agencies and the civilian population to prevent extremism in Ghana and to improve understanding and tolerance as the country prepared itself for the 2024 general elections.