Promoting peace: Father of HaRIS launches ‘Groupstand for Peace Growth & Dev’t’ project

The father of Happy Royal International School (HaRIS), Happy K. Agbenyenu, is embarking on a new project dubbed “Groupstand for Peace Growth and Development” as a symbol to remind Ghanaians of the collective desire for harmony, understanding, and unity as they pursue the developmental goals.

Happy K. Agbenyenu who is the Director of many companies and also the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of many companies, averred during an interview on his birthday that, peace and sustainable development are vital for a prosperous and equitable nation and the world and that sustainable development ensures that the needs of the present generation are met without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own.

According to him, this requires a balance between economic growth, social development, and environmental protection whilst peace, on the other hand, is the absence of conflict and violence, and the presence of justice, equality, and human rights.

He mentioned that the “Groupstand for Peace Growth and Development” project would be carried out across the regions to serve a call to everyone to come together and actively work towards a more peaceful and equitable Ghana as the elections draw near.

Happy K. Agbenyenu noted that in order to succeed with our development efforts, there would be the need for governments to promote social justice, economic opportunity, and political participation by strengthening institutions that uphold the rule of law and protect human rights, including the right to education, healthcare, and decent living conditions.

“Additionally, conflict resolution and peacebuilding efforts are essential for sustainable development, as they help to reduce tensions, prevent violence, and create an enabling environment for development initiatives to succeed,” he said.

The 2023 Global Peace Index shows that the average level of global peacefulness deteriorated by 0.42 per cent.
Ghana’s global ranking dropped from 40th to 51st in 2022, and the country lost its title as the most peaceful in West Africa to Sierra Leone.

Ghana still grapples with communal conflicts over land and natural resources, succession disputes and the rise in the use of hate speech through fake news and insults aimed at discrediting opponents.

In view of this therefore, Happy K. Agbenyenu pointed out that, peace plays a crucial role in achieving the agenda 2030 since it is directly tied to development, with peaceful societies progressing and developed societies more likely to be peaceful.

He said the “Groupstand for Peace Growth and Development” project would actively include everyone such as the youth, women and persons with disability in all peacebuilding efforts at all levels, adding that Ghana’s progress cannot be taken for granted and must be protected by preventing even the most localized pockets of communal, ethnic, resource and chieftaincy-based conflicts.