USAG launch peace project for Election 2012

The University Students Association of Ghana (USAG) has launched a peace project aimed at involving the youth to play active roles in ensuring successful elections in 2012.

The project dubbed “Peaceful 2012 Elections-Role of the Youth” would come out with modalities on how university students nationwide would play active roles in safeguarding the country's security and stability.

It is being managed by EventComm Ghana Limited, an event management company and would begin in March and end in November.

Apostle Dr Opoku Onyinah, Chairman, Church of Pentecost speaking at the launch, lauded the crucial role Ghana had played in ensuring that not all countries on the African continent were affected by conflicts saying “Ghana has taken the lead to let the world know that Africa is not a dark continent as some people perceived”.

He appealed to politicians and Ghanaians to guard their utterances as provocative statements could cause chaos in the country. Apostle Onyinah who is also a member of National Peace Council, lauded the role peace played in the developmental process of countries to attract investment.

“All over the world, countries use hard earned cash to buy huge stockpiles of ammunitions which they might never use,” he said.

Mr Kingsley Baffoe, National President of USAG, said the project would create the platform through which stakeholders of peace would have the opportunity to operate in an objective and practical manner saying “the programme is mainly targeted at the youth. However, the general public of all social class and stature would also be reached with the message of peace”.

Some activities under the project include seminars in all the 10 Regions, peace walk, peace ambassadorial pageant, courtesy call on opinion leaders, interaction with the Electoral Commission and security agencies.

Others are interactions with ordinary citizens, public shows of civil war documentaries and free distribution of such videos on Compact Discs.

Mr Baffoe appealed to corporate entities to assist USAG financially to undertake the project effectively.

Lieutenant Rita Anane of the Ghana Armed Forces pledged the readiness of the Army to provide USAG with footages on the effect of wars in some African countries during their sensitisation programmes.

She urged USAG to concentrate their programmes in the rural areas where the youth were usually recruited to cause mayhem.