Launch Of The National Campaign For Sustained Peace

Mr. Chairman

My Colleagues Ministers and Members of Parliament

Invited Guests

Ladies and Gentleman

The ingredients for crafting lasting peace have long been known to mankind. Yet peace continues to elude some regions of the world.

Everyone loves to hate war. Everyone love to be given the accolade ?peace broker?. Yet there is so much strife on our continent, and one wonders who sows the discord that has eaten into the soul of Africa and is keeping us perpetually poor.

Many blame the upheavals on the African politician. Some point fingers at aspirants to skins and stools. Yet others accuse religious zealots or land owners.

Rather than blame some political party, clan, ethnic group or religious fanaticism for the turmoil on the continent, we must draw lessons from the past and apply them now. We should ask ourselves the following questions:

How did durable peace become rooted in Western Europe after the World War II,. What were the essential ingredients that worked in Western Europe and Japan including the Marshall Plan?

Mr. Chairman, the tragedy of Africa is that after rising up in unison against colonialism, we now turn the guns on ourselves. The next and most rewarding stage of our liberation struggle ought to have been waged against poverty, hunger and disease. Our enemies are not ethnic groups clan, religious groups or parties. Our foes are ignorance, disease, and depravity. And these must be the targets of the second liberation war in Africa.

Ghana is a relatively peaceful country, an oasis of peace in a sub-region torn apart by strife. The peace we are enjoying is Ghana did not come to us on a silver platter. It took many years of sustained efforts by the political, traditional and religious leaders to foster unity among the various ethnic groups, religious persuasions and political ideologies. It has taken the sacrifice of many unsung heroes from the Security Agencies.
Once a while, there are tragic reminders of just how shaky our peace can be. The Peki-Tsito conflict, the Konkomba-Nanumba conflict, the Yendi carnage and a few other conflicts have jolted us into waking up to the realization that our country could travel the road to Cote d?Ivoire, Liberia, Somalia etc. Such disturbances caution us to forever stay alert, less some dissatisfied people ignite a bonfire which will end up consuming us all. We must join hands to help maintain and consolidate the current peace and eliminate the pockets of potentially explosive conflicts around us.

Mr. Chairman, Government deserves our support for the peace initiatives it is embarking on. It will, however, take more than this National Campaign to bring absolute peace to Ghana. The search for peace has to be relentless and thorough. Ghanaians are all out for a search for sustainable peace. This country abounds with people who are prepared to share the experiences of earlier peace negotiation processes. We can tap from their store of knowledge.


As politicians, we are committed to the development agenda and have pledged to initiate and support prudent policies and equitable actions towards the eradication of poverty, ignorance and disease.

We recognise the fact that hunger is the fuel which feeds conflicts and we have sworn to fight it.

I am aware that Opinion Leaders in the North are making genuine efforts to hold a Northern Peace Conference next year to try to craft lasting peace in the North. That is the right entry point of a national campaign for sustainable peace and democracy in this country. We applaud the initiative and call on Government, Traditional Authorities, Religious Bodies, Civil Society and our development partners to whole-heartedly support the effort.

We thank all those who are committed to the campaign to achieve sustained peace in Ghana. Thank you for this opportunity.