Residents of Feo, Soe, and Namoo, three border communities in the Bongo District, have been urged to sustain the interventions and efforts of the United Nations Peacebuilding Fund (PBF) project to ensure continued development.
The Youth Harvest Foundation Ghana (YHFG), a non-governmental organisation that gave the advice, noted that such a move would help maintain the peace and stability the project has achieved over the past two years of its implementation.
It would also contribute to creating a peaceful environment for sustained development, as well as prevent the infiltration and spillover of violent extremist activities from neighbouring countries, particularly Burkina Faso.
Mr Clifford Agaric, Project Officer of YHFG, gave the advice during the unveiling of a peace monument in Bongo, the district capital, to symbolise the need for peace and to mark the end of the PBF project.
The monument, featuring the art of a handshake and an inscription in the Gurune language, “Nuyine nmaale tinga” (unity brings development), serves as a reminder of the power of peace and unity in enhancing development.
The PBF project is a collaboration between the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and it is being implemented at the local level by the Upper East Regional Coordinating Council and YHFG.
The project seeks to prevent and address the root causes of localised conflicts and vulnerabilities to violent extremism in Northern Ghana, particularly in the Upper East, Upper West, and North East Regions.
Mr Agaric noted that the project had contributed to maintaining peace and strengthening social cohesion in the beneficiary communities, despite instability in neighbouring Burkina Faso, and urged residents to ensure that lessons learned during its implementation are sustained.
He said women and youth had been empowered to lead peace efforts and act as peace ambassadors in their respective communities, and urged them to leverage their groups to extend peace advocacy.
“We need to maintain the peace we have achieved over the past two years. It would not be good for us to start a conflict a few months after the project ends; that would render the implementation of the project useless,” he said.
Additionally, the Project Officer noted that the project had contributed to modifying outmoded and dehumanising cultural practices such as widowhood rites, child marriage, teenage pregnancy, gender-based violence, and other forms of domestic violence, particularly against women and girls.
“Now, in many communities, women and youth participate in decision-making processes, which is helping to address specific issues affecting women and youth, particularly girls,” he added.
Mr Mohammed Awal Fuseini, the Human Resource Manager of the Bongo District Assembly, noted that peace was a prerequisite for development and called for collective efforts to safeguard the peace and stability currently enjoyed in the district.
He noted that the district was bordered by countries that had experienced insurgencies, and that some communities in the district had already felt the impact of spillover effects, having to share limited resources with asylum seekers.
“Our vision as an Assembly is to ensure a peaceful environment to drive development, and therefore there is the need for all of us to maintain that peace,” he said.
Naba Azaare Anyenaba the Divisional Chief of the Feo community, commended the project, adding that it had contributed to strengthening peace in the community, and pledged to ensure that the efforts are sustained to achieve the needed development.
Madam Rebecca Atanga, who spoke on behalf of the women in the beneficiary communities, noted that women were the most affected during conflicts but also had the power to prevent conflicts and lead peace efforts.
She added that women would continue to lead efforts to ensure peace in their communities.
Mr Samuel Atanga, who spoke on behalf of the youth in the beneficiary communities, also pledged to continue engaging the youth to sustain the peace efforts of the project.