A Lecturer at the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping and Training Centre (KAIPTC) says there is no political will to resolve the Bawku conflict.
His comment follows recent killings in the area by unidentified gunmen and military men leading to the deaths of five persons in the area.
Tensions are once again high in the community.
According to Dr. Victor Doke, the heightened tension in the area is testament to a break of trust between the people and the state agencies in the area.
He explained that government agencies have failed to engender collaboration between them and the community people hence the frequent acts of violence in the area.
“There is a clear problem here that there isn’t collaboration or coordination between even the state agencies that are on the ground to ensure peace, i.e. the military, the police and other state institutions,” he said on JoyNews’ Newsfile, Saturday, January 20.
He noted that the lack of collaboration also boils down to the woefully under-resourced security agencies expected to engender peace in the area.
Dr. Doke stated that government’s failure to appropriately train and fund the security agencies expected to contain the conflict is a sign of a lack of political will on their part.
“The resources aren’t there to build the capacity to train these service men to understand how to relate with conflict access, i.e. the Mamprusis and then the Kusasis, the youth especially.
“Now the political will somehow is lacking. We need to ensure that there is the political will to invest the resources needed, involve the CSOs to come in. There are NGOs on the ground there, most at times you don’t even hear about these NGOs except when there is a meeting, bilateral consultation that they’re invited.
“But when you go to the ground there, you need these NGOs to also be part of you to ensure your engagement with the community is there. We don’t have the sustaining engagements going in.
“Every time we start the process, then we lay back thinking that when we send the soldiers there to separate the two sides from clashing then that is it. But you still hear sporadic shooting that tells you that the guns are still in the system,” he said.
He has urged that government collaborates with peace NGOs in the area to sensitise residents of Bawku on the effect of the conflict on development in the area and to urge them to give up their firearms to ensure an end to gun violence in the area.
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