The Greater Accra Regional Peace Council (GARPC) as part of the National Peace Council (NPC) architecture on Wednesday conducted a swearing ceremony for two new members who were not present during the inauguration of the Council last December.
Alhaji Khuzaima Mohammed Osman, the Executive Secretary of the Tijjaniya Muslims Movement of Ghana, and Dr. Efua Boatemaa Yakohene, who represents the Civil Society of Ghana on the Council, were the distinguished members who took the three oaths, namely, Oath of Office, Oath of Secrecy, and Oath of Allegiance.
Additionally, formal appointment letters for the Peace Council’s four-year term mandate were handed to its members.
An Act of Parliament (818, section 9, 2011) created the Greater Accra Regional Peace Council, whose mission is to create and facilitate mechanisms for the prevention, management, and resolution of conflict as well as to establish long-lasting peace in the area.
The goal of the Peace Council is to encourage peaceful resolution of disputes through institutionalizing conflict resolution procedures that result in social, political, and religious transformative conversations as well as conflict transformation.
The Greater Accra Regional Peace Council elected Rt. Rev. Samuel Kofi Osabutey, the Methodist Church of Ghana’s representative for the Christian Council of Ghana, as chairman at their first gathering.
Alhaji Khuzaima Mohammed Osman was chosen to lead the finance committee.
Alhaji Osman told the Ghana News Agency in an interview that, with Allah’s help, he would see to it that his experience was applied to the upcoming sessions, gatherings, and activities of the Peace Council in Accra and elsewhere.
He encouraged businesses and members of civil society to contribute time, money, and other resources to the upkeep of peace and stability in Ghana, particularly in areas prone to conflict like Bawku and the border towns.