Accra, March 13, – Members of the
Security related committees of Ghana’s Parliament and their Nigerian
counterparts (Nigerian National Assembly) have met to kick-start a session to
dialogue on peace and security in the sub-region
The dialogue organised by the
Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of the Armed Forces (DCAF), the Policy
and legal Advocacy Centre (PLAC), and hosted by the Kofi Annan International
Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC), was dubbed “exchange of good practices on
legislative Oversight”.
Mr Brian Acheampong, Minister of
State, Office of the President, said unlike in the past when authoritarian and
military rule stifled and disrupted the growth of Parliament in Africa, there
was a cheer element that today’s Parliament had enjoyed some stability as we
seek to grow our collective democracy in Africa.
“As opposed to the regime,
security which was the rule in the past, the notion of human security is now
the fulcrum around which most security policies and programmes are formulated
and implemented,” he said.
He said while ensuring that we
have stable and vibrant democracies, the concern of most governments in Africa
in this present era was how to keep vulnerable populations safe from the risk
of environmental degradation, hunger, poverty, disease, illiteracy and
inequality, as well as keeping citizens free from the dangers of crime,
violence and extremism.
Mr Acheampong said the security
environment in Africa was changing rapidly and policy makers and legislatures
need to develop the right skills and competencies to be able to formulate the
right policies to support the security agencies to overcome the challenges.
“This Parliamentary exchange
programme will further strengthen our resolve to consolidate democracy and rule
of law and inspire us in the 2001 ECOWAS parliamentary protocol on democracy
and the African union charter on democracy, elections and governance for 2007,”
he said.
The Nigerian High Commissioner to
Ghana, Mr Olufemi Abikoye, said the exchange visit was timely and important for
the advancement of the security sector; and that it was instructive and
encouraging that both parliaments were motivated to want to improve the manner
in which their committees conduct oversight.
He said the legislature is a key
arm of government and being able to learn from other legislators in similar
climes and exchange experiences is important in improving capacity and
advancing existing legislative efforts.
“This visit is also key for
building integral and strategic relationships between Ghana and Nigeria for the
increased effectiveness of their respective security sectors,” he added.
The Commandant of the KAIPTC, Air
Vice Marshal Griffiths S. Evans said the KAIPTC, over the last 15 years, had
trained over 17,000 military, police and civilian personnel from over 90
countries and organizations across the world.
“Our flagship programmes in
security sector reform/governance, and managing defence in the wider security
environment are, but a few of the causes that have directly contributed to the
security sector reform processes in Liberia, Sierra Leone, Mali and more
recently the ongoing Security Sector Reform (SSR) process in the Gambia,” he
said.
“Our quest to build safer and
more resilient societies in the continent will come to nothing if we fail to
share experiences and harness our collective efforts at overcoming our regional
security threats, which are in turn changing rapidly,” he said.
The Executive Director, Policy
and legal Advocacy Centre (PLAC), Mr Clement Nwankwo, expressed appreciation to
the Ghanaian Parliamentarians for their willingness to participate in this
event and share their insights with their Nigerian counterparts.
“PLAC is pleased to be a part of
this event and has been at the forefront of providing technical support to the
national assembly for a number of years,” he said.
“PLAC realizes that security is
one of the components of the social contract between a state and its citizens
and feeds into areas such as the economy, investments and social unity,” he
added.
“Looking at the security
challenges being encountered at the global, regional and national levels, the
enhancement of oversight functions of the legislature has never been more
necessary in helping improve security delivery to citizens and promoting
accountability by agencies that have been given this duty.”
Mr Nwankwo said the role of the
legislature could not be over emphasised in responding to the implementation of
laws and executive policies as well as ensuring that the security agencies were
functioning optimally.
GNA
No comments:
Post a Comment